Sunday's 6-2 loss to the Phillies at Citizen Bank Park in Philadelphia saw the Mets experience their first instance of adversity on the 2020 regular season.
A three-game sweep, the first time they were unable to salvage a win in a series this year, is amplified for the Mets in a season where only 37 contests remain.
Sitting last in the NL East, the Mets (9-14) understand a sense of urgency is there to bounce back with a four-game series looming at Marlins Park in Miami.
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But at the same time, the Mets have not hit the panic button, with J.D. Davis putting the situation in perspective.
"I can't really compare any season to this season -- it's a little different right now, obviously, with the circumstances," said Davis, who went 2 for 4 with a run as the Mets managed seven hits but left nine runners on base against the Phillies (8-9). "We're still trying to fight.
"There were a lot of opportunities to score and we haven't been scoring that much with runners in scoring position, but we've had a lot of barrels like today, for example -- I know (Luis) Guillorme got that (single) down the line (in the fourth inning). But when I was at second base, I think (Andres) Gimenez hit that ball out to Jay Bruce in left (line-drive out). I mean, that's just another barrel (with) runners in scoring position (Davis on second, Robinson Cano on first), which, 10 and 15 feet left or right, we're looking at a double, he's on base and the inning is just extended. It's just one of those things that it's not really going our way.
"But for right now, the only thing we can do is keep our head up, keep grinding, keep working. I know it's 60 games and everyone likes to have this sense of urgency. But at the end of the day, just like what Luis (Guillorme) said, we're facing our division a lot. So our future, our destiny is in our hands. We can change it real quick. The best way we can do it is learn from this three-game set and just bounce back against the Marlins."
After a 2-3 start, the Mets used the previous series against the Marlins to get back in a groove.
The Mets won Aug. 7-9's three-game series against the Marlins at Citi Field, subsequently splitting last Monday through Thursday's four-game set vs. the Washington Nationals (8-11).
"I don't think any of us are hanging our heads," Davis said. "Everyone gets frustrated when they get out. It's a game of failure. Everybody's going to have some kind of anger, some kind of frustration. But there's no doubt, with us, right now.
"Is it bitter that we just got swept? Absolutely. It's unacceptable. I hate losing and everybody in that locker room hates losing, and especially getting swept by the Phillies. It's unacceptable.
"But at the same time, there's positivity in all of us. We know we can bounce back. A lot of us are going in and out in at-bats. So I think that's kind of keeping us positive that not all of us have hit our stride just yet. And once this whole lineup gets hot, you guys have seen it in the second half of last year and how things can change in a hurry."
