Series-Opening Win Over Phillies Shows Mets Can Hang With the NL East's Best

Here's what the Mets' latest win means for their outlook.

The Mets showed a lot in their series-opening win over the Phillies on Thursday. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Mets put together a solid 6-4 win over the Phillies on Thursday night at Citizens Bank Park in the City of Brotherly Love, taking the first matchup of the two National League East rivals so far this year. Juan Soto and Marcus Semien slugged the Mets' lineup to six runs, while starter Sean Manaea turned in over five strong innings, continuing his return to prior form as an effective starting pitcher.

Overall, the Mets pieced together one of their best wins of the season before Friday's unusual day off.

Dub! ✅#MetsWin #LGM pic.twitter.com/Oh2fyYwjOi

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 19, 2026

As the Mets continue to try to save their season, they'll need to beat some of the best that the National League has to offer. They have two more games in Philadelphia against this Phillies team before heading home for a major homestand: four with the Cubs and three with the Phillies. New York will not play another sub-.500 team until they head to Toronto to face the Blue Jays on June 29.

The Mets are running out of time to get back into the playoff hunt, but they have several chances coming up against a good Phillies team that currently sits in the second NL wild card position. After going 2-1 against the first-place Atlanta Braves, the Mets are now 3-1 against the top two teams in the division after not playing either of them until mid-June. With such a good start against these two teams, the Mets might be a better team than some think.

The Mets are showing that they can hang with the top of the NL East

The Mets have turned in three convincing wins against the Phillies and Braves over the past week, which might mean more for this team than any movement in the standings.

As the Mets try to identify how good or bad a team they are, with a little over six weeks before the trading deadline, piling up wins against good teams is the best indicator there could be. The Mets are still five back in the playoff picture, but these wins could be enough to convince them that they are good enough to make a run.

Success over the Phillies and Braves should have the Mets excited about their NL East outlook. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Specifically with the Phillies, this is only their first of six games between the two teams, and there is still plenty of room for the Mets to drop off in this regard. New York has a pair of brutal pitching matchups coming, with Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler awaiting in the final two games of the series. If the Mets can swipe one of those two games, they'll take the series from the Phillies, much like they did against the Braves.

It's also worth noting that New York's 52.9% win rate vs. the NL East is the second-best in the division, trailing only Atlanta (65.2%) while being ahead of Philadelphia (47.1%), Washington (39.1%) and Miami (46.2%).

The standings are still in an incredible state of flux before July rolls around, so the Mets are better served focusing on beating good teams. As of Friday, they're five games out of the NL's final wild-card spot, emphasizing the need to keep their foot on the gas.

If the Mets can take their first series of the season against both the Braves and Phillies, it would be quite hard not to look at this team and seriously believe that they have what it takes to get back into the playoff hunt.