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PHILADELPHIA – The Cubs had already lost. No matter what happens in the end, it will still be part of the daily equation for the next 29 days. The Brews were well done at Wrigley Field by the Brewers. This meant that someone on the ground at Citizens Bank Park was going to pick up the most valuable real estate property in late summer:
A complete game in the ranking.
The last day of August, with the beginning of September, it's all that matters. It's the only arithmetic that counts. The Mets started the day five games on the last blank card; they could come up with four with a win. The magic number of Cubs to eliminate the Mets was 24; win and that number would stay where he was.
All they had to do was win.
And then, sonofgun, the Mets won.
They won 6-3 and naturally they had some moments of nervousness. There was the bottom of the sixth inning, a race already started and the bases loaded, nobody on the outside. Then Todd Frazier – a shot and a RBI already, two more shots and another RBI coming – has realized one of the biggest defensive games you'll ever see, jumping, stretching and trapping a line of Cesar Hernandez in the strap of his glove.
"I've never seen him jump so high," said Mickey Callaway later, laughing. "I'm not sure we'll come back someday."
Frazier: "You only hope you can jump high enough and your arm can go far enough. I could go back to high school. Not anymore."
Frazier gets that ball, she's 5-4 with the race tied for third. This was not obtained by Frazier. Luis Avilan scored a goal, but kept it at 5-3, Justin Wilson and Seth Lugo were brilliant at the back of the pen. Two months ago, when the Mets season unfolded for the first time, everything happened at that very spot, where four days and nights in a row, the paddock was forged the reputation to be something that only an arsonist could love.
These last two days, while the season only held up to one thread, this was almost perfect.
"We had our problems in the pen," said Mets receiver Wilson Ramos, "but they are doing really well right now."
And then there is Ramos, the receiver who is simply brilliant for a month. There were four more hits for Ramos on Saturday, and the strike sequence is 24, and the batting average is all the way up to .299. While no one else could buy a tube last week, Ramos continued to cut them down, 43 in all for the month of August.
Now, others have joined the party: Frazier (eight RBI so far this series). Michael Conforto (two hits, and the doubled RBI that put them for good). Joe Panik, who attacked the early loaded bases, then a pair with a double rocket.
"I feel terribly good on the plate," Ramos shrugged.
"It's hard to argue his chances at the moment," Callaway said. "In the end, you will make a mistake and it will take you to the right field."
The odds are still so steep against the Mets, a reality they have forged themselves through the last two-thirds of this country's nine unfortunate matches. There are only 27 games to play. In addition to Cubs, there are always Phillies, Brewers and Diamondbacks. It will probably take 20-7 in September to have a real chance.
They were 14-8 in July and 17-11 in August. They felt that the two months were hot and that they would need to be better than that during the last 29 days of the season to sift through. It's not ideal. But they reached the beginning of September and they still have the pulse. Watching the scores of Cubs, it counts. Watching the dashboard is a contact sport.
"We have an opportunity," Callaway said. "An opportunity to win the next match. A chance to give us more opportunities day after day. "
Twenty out of 27, this seems discouraging and disturbing. For the Mets, so it's best to look at it differently: Go 1-0 today. Go 1-0 tomorrow. Keep the magic number where there are as many days as possible. Reduce the margin in the ranking whenever you can. To worry about today. Do not worry about September 29th.
"Take your best shot," Callaway said.
Today & # 39; hui. Tomorrow. Every day for 29 days. Welcome to the beginning of September. Welcome to the top of the pennant race.
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