Mets should have sights on Diamondbacks in Wild Card race — not just Braves

As the Mets look to reach the playoffs, most of the focus is on their battle with the Braves for the third Wild Card spot.

During a Labor Day weekend where the Mets swept a three-game series from the pitiful White Sox in Chicago before taking the opener of a three-game set with the Red Sox at Citi Field, the Braves — who had been winning close game after close game — dropped three of four to the Phillies in Philadelphia.

The result?

The 4.0 game deficit the Mets were facing late last week is now just a half game.

As New York continues a final stretch that will get significantly more difficult in about a week, the clearest path to October is by outlasting Atlanta for that third Wild Card spot.

But don’t discount the possibility that the Mets catch the Diamondbacks, who are currently in the second Wild Card spot.

The above notion seemed incredibly unlikely just over a week ago, when the Mets were trailing Arizona by 7.0 games.

That was before the Mets took two of three games from the D-backs last week in Arizona ahead of the Snakes’ series with Los Angeles.

Entering play on Tuesday — following a weekend where the Diamondbacks lost three of four games to the Dodgers while giving up 32 runs in the process — that deficit has been shaved to just 3.0 games.

And things are not going to get easier for Arizona.

Here’s a look at their remaining schedule:

at Giants for three games
at Astros for three
vs. Rangers for two
vs. Brewers for three
at Rockies for three
at Brewers for four
vs. Giants for three
vs. Padres for three

Let’s dissect this…

The Giants are basically out of postseason contention, but will certainly want to do everything in their power to hurt a division rival. And with Logan Webb and Blake Snell in their rotation, they’re no pushover.

The Rangers aren’t very good.

The Astros are fighting for playoff position in the American League, and the Brewers are battling with the Dodgers for the best record in the National League — and with the Phillies and Los Angeles for one of two first-round byes in the postseason.

The Rockies are a very bad baseball team, but the D-backs have to face them in the thin air of Colorado, which can be a great equalizer (the Rockies are a respectable 32-37 at home, while their road record is a putrid 19-50).

Then there’s that final series with the Padres, who are currently holding the top Wild Card spot.

Again — not easy for Arizona.

The D-backs are also still without three of their most important offensive cogs, with Ketel Marte, Christian Walker, and Gabriel Moreno all on the IL. And the status of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is up in the air after he exited Sunday’s game with a tight calf.

To be crystal clear about this, the Mets’ path is not easy, either.

Following series against the Red Sox and Reds at home, they hit the road to face the Blue Jays and Phillies — and the three-game set against the Phils in Philadelphia will be the first of seven games between the two teams down the stretch (with a three-game set against the Nationals at Citi Field in the middle).

The Mets also have to face the Braves in Atlanta and Brewers in Milwaukee during a potentially fateful six-game road trip that ends the regular season.

But one thing that should hearten the Mets is that they’ve stepped up against all of the tough competition they’ve faced in the second half of the season, taking series from the Yankees, Twins, Orioles, and D-backs, and splitting series against the Braves and Padres.

All of this is to say that with less than a month to go until the playoffs, the Mets are right there.

And they have multiple pathways to October.

If the Mets continue to win series down the stretch, their drive to the postseason will likely take care of itself — whether it’s the Braves, Diamondbacks, or both that they overtake to get there.