Mets blast into NL’s top wild-card spot. Is more help on the way?

NEW YORK — As another ball was tossed into the summer night on Friday, the crowd at Citi Field was in raptures. Francisco Alvarez’s solo shot capped a seven-run third-inning explosion against Charlie Morton that sent the Mets on their way to an 8-4 victory over Atlanta.

Alvarez’s strike was the third of the inning, following JD Martinez’s go-ahead grand slam and a two-run home run by Mark Vientos.

New York’s fifth straight win now moves them into second place in the National League East and into the first wild card spot in the National League.

The turnaround has been as swift as Morton’s downfall on Friday. New York was 10 games behind Atlanta in the standings on June 2, just 54 days earlier. Even when Atlanta pulled the Mets back from a 10 1/2-game deficit in 2022, it took 99 days to complete the comeback.

“A few months ago we were in the pit,” Vientos said. “It’s a different picture now.”

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The Mets hit three homers and Kodai Senga was dominant — until he got injured. Ten games behind Atlanta 54 days ago, the Mets pass them for the top wild card position.

The Mets are 55-48.

— Tim Britton (@TimBritton) July 27, 2024

For the fans, two wins over Atlanta in black jerseys had not been such a good feeling since mid-October 1999.

The win wasn’t the whole story at Citi Field on a Friday, with Kodai Senga returning from the injured list and likely returning, and another reliever being traded.

This means the Mets have four days left until the trade deadline:

Senga’s injury complicates rotation picture

With Senga out with an injury, league sources expect the Mets to explore the starting pitching market.

Senga’s first start of the season looked set to be a gem when he fell to the grass in the sixth inning, felled by a strained left calf. He will undergo an MRI on Saturday and will almost certainly be back on the injured list.

Before Senga went down, the Mets had become comfortable with their internal rotation options over the past two months, people familiar with the club’s thinking said. That meant trusting Tylor Megill, who took the injured Christian Scott’s spot in the rotation on Saturday. While the Mets would have defaulted to a six-man rotation with Senga, they wouldn’t need a sixth starter until later in August after Saturday. The Mets also hadn’t discussed José Buttó — who has a 0.66 ERA in 13 2/3 innings as a reliever — returning to the rotation before Friday’s game.

Losing Senga, however, should change things, especially if it’s on the long side of the potential timeline. Rival evaluators already had doubts about the rotation’s ability to continue absorbing volume. Senga ended a streak of five Mets starters failing to record an out in the sixth inning.

“I feel good about what we have,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’ve gotten to this point with the guys we have in the room.”

“It’s obviously a big piece, losing him,” Martinez said. “Everyone’s just next. Let’s just keep going.”

Still, Senga showed on Friday what the Mets have been missing all season. In his first start of the year, he recorded the third-most strikeouts (nine) of any starter for the club this season. His ability to miss bats is unmatched in New York’s rotation.

In a way, the Mets don’t have to replace Senga: They had gone to a six-man rotation to accommodate the right-handed pitcher, and now they’re simply going back to a five-man rotation in his absence. They don’t have to call up another starter to take his place.

The hunt for an extra bat

New York has checked out left-handed hitters, including San Francisco Giants outfielder and former Met Michael Conforto, league sources confirmed. The New York Post first reported that the Mets had spoken to the Giants about Conforto. The Athletics previously reported Conforto will likely be traded. He would be entitled to the $5.9 million of his prorated salary. In theory, if a club takes on that salary, they can limit the prospect cost.

During the game, the Mets announced they had acquired right-handed reliever Ryne Stanek from the Mariners for Triple-A outfielder Rhylan Thomas.

Stanek, a power arm with big-game experience, provides much-needed depth to a bullpen that continues to struggle with injuries. The Mets placed emerging setup man Dedniel Núñez on the 15-day IL earlier Friday, retroactive to July 24, with a right pronator injury. Mendoza, however, said Núñez’s stay on the injured list should be brief, describing the injury as a “minor injury.”

Right-hander Reed Garrett, another late-inning option like Núñez, is also on the injured list. Garrett said he threw 10 pitches off the mound Friday and expects to throw a full bullpen session Sunday. The Mets also expect right-hander Sean Reid-Foley to be back off the injured list soon. Reid-Foley could begin a rehab assignment as early as Sunday.

New York’s bullpen hierarchy has changed as the season has progressed, with veterans like Adam Ottavino and Jake Diekman struggling and less experienced arms like Núñez, Garrett and José Buttó taking on larger roles. There’s an adjustment period, and the Mets are trying to avoid overtaxing those pitchers at stressful times. They believe the workload contributed to Garrett’s setback and injury, and they hope he can return quickly and look more like his April self. Stanek could take some of the pressure off those pitchers by providing another solid option for Mendoza.

(Photo by JD Martinez: Vincent Carchietta/USA Today)