NEW YORK _ To Mets general manager Sandy Alderson, the only way for his team to pivot from sellers to buyers would be to play "exceedingly well" these next two weeks.
In the first game of the second half, the Mets did just that.
The Mets exploded out of the All-Star break with a 14-2 win at Citi Field over the Rockies to gain a game in the wild-card race. Jacob deGrom (10-3) won his sixth straight start by throwing eight innings of two-run ball and also going 2 for 4 with an RBI, and the hitters scored eight runs in two-plus innings against Colorado righty, Jon Gray.
Colorado now leads the Mets by 9{ games and seven in the loss column.
The Mets (40-47) still have long ways to go to be considered contenders for a playoff spot, and Mets general manager Sandy Alderson's statements before the game reflected that. With his team more than a week away from a .500 mark, he said he does not expect this 10-game home stand to have a "material impact" on his team's plans.
Alderson & Co. are currently and likely will continue to operate as sellers, with veterans like Addison Reed, Jay Bruce and Lucas Duda as trade candidates.
"You're always looking to see what transpires over the next seven to 10 days," Alderson said prior to beginning this three-game set. "I think we're at the point in the season where things would have to go exceedingly for us to realistically change direction."
The first seven games of this homestand afford the Mets to make up ground against two teams they are trailing in the wild-card race in the Rockies and the Cardinals, and the Mets jumped on the Rockies early en route to their blowout victory.
Colorado took a 1-0 lead in the first by capitalizing on an error before the Mets scored the next nine runs. Two runs scored in the second to give the Mets a 2-1 lead, and six more scored in the third with Gray exiting after the first six batters reached.
T.J. Rivera laced a two-run double into center off Gray for a 4-1 lead, and Asdrubal Cabrera added a two-run single to boost the lead to 8-1. Rivera added a solo homer in the fourth inning while Michael Conforto added a three-run homer in the seventh.
Conforto paced the Mets with four RBIs, and the team collected 19 hits.
"One of the predicaments we have is we're what 10 games behind," Alderson said. "It's a relative proposition, it's not just how well we do but how other teams do as well. Where we are the end of a series like the one against the Rockies, where we are at the end of a homestand, where we are at a road trip but I think we will know it when we see it."
Alderson made it clear before the game he has no intention of trading players under control like deGrom, and deGrom showcased Friday why he would be coveted. Multiple reports have said the Astros would be interested in acquiring the talented righty.
After Gerardo Parra ripped an RBI single for a 1-0 lead in the fourth, deGrom retired the next 14 batters until he yielded a leadoff double to Charlie Blackmon in the sixth inning. The righty retired the final eight batters he faced and struck out 11 batters.
He owns a 1.53 ERA in his last six starts.
"This is not a tear down situation. This is what I believe is sort of a pause button and we're going to have a lot of players are free agents at the end of the year, a lot of payroll that will become available," Alderson said. "We're not looking to rebuild quote unquote. We're looking to make sure we have a nucleus of a competitive team going into next year. While we wouldn't completely discount any possibility of a trade of that type (players with multiple years of control) because who knows what might be presented, I don't think enough would be presented for us to bite on that."
