Already improbable, the notion of a Mets collapse has become near-impossible. New York all but sewed up the National League East with a 6-4 win over the Reds on Thursday at Great American Ball Park; combined with the Nationals’ loss earlier in the day, it grew the Mets’ division lead to 7 1/2 games with nine to play while dropping their magic number to 3.
“It’s fun,” said Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy, who knocked home the go-ahead run in the seventh. “That’s the easiest way to describe it. You don’t need a lot of adjectives: It’s fun. This is a great group of guys and we’re having a whole lot of fun right now.”
Put another way: even if the Mets lose all of their remaining games, the Nats would need to win eight of 10 just to force a one-game playoff.
Said Mets starter Steven Matz: “It’s a pretty good place to be.”
Thanks to a three-run, four-hit barrage in the seventh, the Mets — who also posted a three-run third — stayed within 1 1/2 games of the Dodgers for home-field advantage in the NL Division Series. Coming into the night with a 2-6 record in their previous eight games, they overcame a David Wright miscue at third base, which stuck Matz with a no-decision, when Murphy plated the go-ahead run with a two-out RBI triple off Manny Parra.
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