It's Go Time: Playoff Baseball Begins Tonight

by Tim Reilly August 09, 2019 0 Comments

For the last 3 1/2 weeks, the Mets did what they had to do and beat up on the Padres, Pirates, White Sox and Marlins. They’ve not only put themselves back in the playoff hunt, but they’re also now the hottest team in baseball and NO ONE wants to see them in the playoffs. With a rotation of deGrom, Syndergaard, Wheeler, Matz and now Stroman – that’s enough to have other teams scoreboard watching and praying the Mets don’t punch their October ticket.

Haven’t been this juiced for a game since 2016.

Mets fans tonight at 7pm: pic.twitter.com/ywwsP1iQMe
— The 7 Line (@The7Line) August 9, 2019

The Mets are about to hit a challenging part of their schedule, chock-full of division rivals and contenders. Simply put, these are the teams you have to beat if you want to play for it all. In my mind, the postseason officially starts tonight with a series against the Nationals, who sit atop the Wild Card standings 2.5 games in front of the Mets. Now the fun really begins.

If you’re going to tell me it’s early August, stop with the playoff talk. These pitching matchups say otherwise:

Friday: Stroman vs. Strasburg

Saturday: Syndergaard vs. Corbin

Sunday: deGrom vs. Sanchez

Get out to Citi Field. Cancel your weekend plans to watch the broadcast. Set push notifications. Do what you have to do, but make sure you’re locked in with playoff intensity from here on out. You can catch up on sleep all winter long. It’s time to grind out the dog days of summer to enjoy brisk baseball in the fall.

Wear the same lucky jersey. Stick with your recent drink of choice. Don’t change your eating habits. We’re in the midst of a six-game winning streak and you don’t f--- with a winning streak. Let’s ride this wave – but don’t ever, ever start the actual wave – all the way into October.

I’m getting chills just thinking about it. It’s go time, folks. LFGM!

Also, not that you could ever forget, but refresh your memory on what happened the last time the Mets and Nationals met in a big early August series…