Mets in danger of losing NL East after second straight loss to Braves

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The New York Mets have already clinched their first postseason berth since 2016, but they want to avoid the NL Wild Card Series at all costs.

Unfortunately for them, they aren't doing themselves many favors. After Saturday night's 4-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves, the Mets now trail the defending World Series champions by a game in the National League East with four games to go.

The two teams wrap up the series on Sunday, but the winner also clinches the tiebreaker in the head-to-head season series. Meaning, if the Braves win on Sunday, their magic number to clinch the division goes down to one. If the Mets win, New York's magic number would be three, while Atlanta's would be four.

At this point, the Mets still control their own destiny, but if they lose tomorrow, they will have to win out, and the Braves will have to lose out for the Mets to win the division.

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New York Mets' Tyler Naquin reacts after striking out with the bases loaded to end the team's baseball game against the Atlanta Braves on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

The Mets led the division by 10.5 games back on June 1. From that date until Sept. 2, the Mets went an astounding 53-31… but the Braves went an almost unheard of 60-24. When the Mets went on a six-game winning streak from Sept. 15 to Sept. 20, so did the Braves, keeping it a one-game lead for New York.

The Mets had one of the easiest remaining schedules in the month of September, playing the likes of the Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals. But in 18 games against those teams this month, they went just