The Mets' Upcoming Schedule Offers a Huge Opportunity to Make Up Ground

There is some renewed hope for the Mets as they enter June on a four-game winning streak. Their upcoming schedule gives them a huge opportunity to make up ground.

Juan Soto and the Mets have a big opportunity to make up ground in the Wild Card race in June. | John Jones-Imagn Images

The Mets usually have a rough time in June, but this year has a chance to be different. The current four-game losing streak offers some hope that the worst is behind the Mets, and they are in a good spot health-wise, as they could be getting some key hitters back within the next week.

Marcus Semien's recent offensive uptick has helped, while Juan Soto's incredible May performance looks like a heater that can carry them for a while. Even with all of the positives from the last few days, the Mets still have work to do as they remain seven games below .500 entering June.

The 2024 Mets are among many teams that have shown over the years that having more than 100 games remaining means plenty of time to turn a season around. The state of the National League's Wild Card race is also playing to the Mets' favor, as the pack has come back to them in the past two weeks.

After winning four in a row, the Mets are out of last place in the NL East as they start their six-game west coast road trip pic.twitter.com/qQICOeZkBe

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 1, 2026

Sweeping the Marlins over the weekend pulled the Mets out of last place in the NL East, which put them ahead of Miami in the standings. There are still six teams separating the Mets from the final NL Wild Card spot, but the league's collective slump has allowed the Mets to pull within 5.5 games of a postseason berth.

The top spot in the Wild Card race belongs to the Padres, who are a half-game above the Cardinals for the second spot and one game above Arizona for the third. The Diamondbacks are in a virtual tie for the third Wild Card with the Pirates and Cubs, with the Reds and Nationals one game behind them. The Phillies sit a half-game back of that group before the Mets pop up in the standings.

The Mets' June schedule offers a significant opportunity to make up ground

While the downside to the Mets' schedule is that it will get tougher in June, the upshot is that they face several of the teams they are chasing in the Wild Card picture. Nineteen of the Mets' 27 games in June will come against the Padres, Cardinals, Reds, Phillies and Cubs, giving them an opportunity to gain ground in the standings over the next 30 days.

A 5.5-game deficit in the wild card race isn't insurmountable, especially if the Mets can climb past a few teams over the course of the next month. Several of the teams the Mets are playing have also been in funks, with the Cubs coming down to Earth after a red-hot April, the Padres in the middle of a 3-8 skid and the Reds flirting with .500 after a strong April.

The Mets still have a lot of work to do to get back to .500 themselves, but this stretch of the schedule isn't as daunting as it initially appeared. Getting Jorge Polanco and Francisco Alvarez back soon could offer a significant jolt to the lineup, allowing the Mets to try to close in on the break-even point before Francisco Lindor eventually makes his way back.

Jorge Polanco's looming return should help the Mets add to their growing momentum. | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That kind of push, along with some aggressive action from President of Baseball Operations David Stearns, could help the Mets get in a position to avoid selling and try chasing a postseason spot after all. The only thing that appears gone as a result of their poor first two months is the division, with the Braves up by 13.5 games on the Mets, but we live in a world where six teams reach the postseason.

There is enough mediocre baseball being played in the National League right now that the Mets can envision a scenario where they can be right in the mix if they end the season around 85 wins. Getting there will require taking advantage of these games against their direct competition, moving up in the standings, and securing key tiebreakers in the process.