The schedule says the Mets have 10 more regular season games left.
According to Brandon Nimmo, that’s not the case.
“I’m pretty much convinced now we’re not in the regular season anymore,” Nimmo said after the Mets completed a three-game sweep of the Nationals with a 10-0 win on Wednesday. “We’re in playoff baseball. Every win is extremely important. It decides if we keep playing or not.”
The Mets used a nine-run fourth inning to put this one away, sparked by a two-run single by Mark Vientos and capped by Nimmo’s three-run homer.
Left for dead by most at various points throughout the season, the Mets’ latest surge has set up a critical four-game series in Queens beginning Thursday against the first-place Phillies, followed by a final road trip to Atlanta and then Milwaukee.
They enter this last crucial stretch of the season two games up on the Braves for the third and final NL wild card and tied for the second one with Arizona, as well as a season-high 16 games over .500 (84-68) — but with Francisco Lindor’s status still up in the air due to his sore back.
Even so, they haven’t stopped rolling, as the Mets have won nine of their last 10 at home — and they’re hoping for more.
“The energy was great tonight, but we want even more this weekend,” Nimmo said. “We want this place filled up.”
Games like Wednesday’s will help, as they also got seven shutout innings from Jose Quintana, who hasn’t given up a run in 22 ²/₃ consecutive innings and has allowed just one earned run in his last five starts, covering 32 innings.
Since Sept. 1, the Mets rotation has a 1.77 ERA.
Nimmo started the decisive inning with a leadoff walk, followed by a single to left by Pete Alonso.
Tyrone Taylor then crushed a double to right-center, his fourth in his last six games.
Nimmo just beat the throw home to give the Mets the lead.
With runners on second and third, the slumping Vientos — hitless in his previous 15 at-bats — came up with a two-run single to center to make it 3-0.
Vientos scored on a base hit through the left side of the infield by rookie Luisangel Acuna.
A flare single down the right field line by Jose Iglesias loaded the bases and ended DJ Herz’s night.
Starling Marte crushed a bullet to right to score two more and Nimmo then hit his 20th homer of the season to complete the onslaught.
It made for easy work the rest of the way for Quintana, who allowed just two hits and a pair of walks.
Acuna tacked on the final run for the Mets with a solo shot in the eighth, the shortstop’s second homer in as many nights, as he’s made up for some of the loss of Lindor.
It all made for another night in which the Mets could dream big, as they continue to be the best team in the majors since the end of May.
“We haven’t done anything,” Carlos Mendoza said. “We’ve got to continue to play well and I know we will.”
This test figures to be the toughest yet.
“We’ll be ready,” Mendoza said. “We’ll be ready. We’ve been showing it for quite a bit.”
And that’s why the manager wouldn’t say the upcoming series in Queens against the Phillies is their last one of the year.
“I’m not ready to call it our last homestand,” Mendoza said. “It is for the regular season. I don’t think anybody here is ready to call it that… I hope there’s a lot of baseball games left in this ballpark this year.”
