Every series is crucial to the Mets from this point on, with the team sitting just a game out of the second Wild Card spot after taking two out of three from Washington.

Next up for the Mets, another divisional foe in the Atlanta Braves, a team entering this three-game series with the second best record in the National League.

The Mets have won 16 of 19 dating back to July 23, but the Braves represent the latest test of the Mets' winning ways. Atlanta has won six of 10 from the Mets this season, and with nine more head-to-head matchups on the schedule, the Mets know the challenge that the Braves represent.

"It's the athleticism. They're going to take off on you. You have to try to control the run game," Mickey Callaway said before Tuesday's game. "Their lineup is really good. They have one of the best hitters in all of baseball in Freddie Freeman, and Ronald Acuna, I mean those guys are some of the best, and you surround them by other good ones. So, we have to execute pitches, we have to be diligent in controlling the run game, and we have to make every play. We have to do the small things the right way to score runs.

"It's a tough challenge. They're a great team, but if we play the way we're capable of and the way we've been playing lately, we have a good chance."

The Mets are just a game out of a Wild Card spot, but it's not yet complete out of the question that the division could still be within reach. The Mets are six games back of the Braves in the NL East, and while there's still time to make up ground, Callaway and the Mets are just focusing on the things that they can control.

"I think we just focus on one day at a time," Callaway said. "We understand where everybody's at. That's easy. We get that information every day, but the main thing we have to do is focus on the next pitch, the next game, make sure that we continue to put ourselves in a position that we have a chance at some point.

"There's more pressure, and I think our players lately have welcomed that pressure and performed really well. So, it is more difficult. We have to understand that today is the only thing that matters, even though the outside world probably thinks otherwise and go from there. It's a challenge, but I think it's a challenge that our group is up for."

ICYMI: Here's what happened Monday in Mets Land >> Read More

Popular in the Community