The New York Mets are back in the hunt for a playoff spot after Sunday's series sweep of the San Diego Padres.
It was an inspiring weekend for the Metsies as it was their first-ever sweep of the San Diego franchise in 18 years.
They won through the heroics of Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso.
The team could use all the inspiration they can get to salvage their campaign as the season approaches the halfway mark.
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The Mets have the highest payroll this season, but their results have been mixed in the first two months.
They have turned things around somehow this June, so they are back in the wildcard spot.
Alonso, who had a season-high 5 RBIs during the win, thinks they have figured things out.
"Over the course of the 162-game season, certain things early can get highlighted, especially either success or struggles," he said.
"But I think that now that as we're kind of progressing, we're starting to come into ourselves, understand our identity and hit our stride a little bit."
Win over the Padres shows they've learned their lessons
The Mets haven't shown some dominance this season, but they showed poise against the Padres.
They were able to build a 4-1 lead in the first inning, but the Padres were able to come back in the fourth, 7-6.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza attributes their mental poise to what they learned from the early parts of the season.
"Those are some of the games that we were losing in May and today we found a way," he said.
He also insisted they are not panicking and will work hard to remain in the playoff hunt, explaining that struggling is part of a long MLB season.
"They continue to show up every day. They continue to work. Our preparation continues to get better and they are having fun," he told reporters post-game.
"A lot of people forget that this game is hard and you are going to go through struggles, and you have to find a way to stay positive, even when it's hard. ... To see [the players] come through, it's exciting. The expectations are -- we will continue to prepare, push each other and compete."
The Mets' momentum shifted in June
The New York Mets are coming alive this month. Before the sweep of the Padres, they also pulled off inspiring wins against higher-tier clubs and won games against teams they have no business losing.
It all started when Lindor decided to call a meeting between players after the team lost massively to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-10, on June 29.
Whatever they discussed privately should be posted on the locker room doors, ala Ted Lasso, as they have changed since then.
They went 2-2 against MLB 2023 finalist Arizona Diamondbacks in their next series and then swept the Washington Nationals 3-0 in the next one.
The Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies split their two-game series, but against the Miami Marlins, the Metsies showed who the better team was, 2-1.
Next up for them are the defending champions, the Texas Rangers, in a series that will test whether their current run is legitimate.
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