The Mets are on the brink of disaster.
Sporting the second-largest payroll in baseball at $314 million, New York lost 6-2 to the eliminated Marlins on Friday night to drop to 82-78 on the year. That loss—combined with the Reds' 3-1 win over the Brewers—means the Mets no longer control their own destiny.
That's right. Elly De La Cruz and the Reds' $119 million payroll are now in the driver's seat. If Cincinnati beats Milwaukee again on Saturday and Sunday, it doesn't matter what the Mets do against Miami—the Reds would be heading to the postseason.
Entering the slate of games Friday night, Fangraphs gave the Mets a 78.1% chance to make the playoffs. But after the Mets' loss and the Reds' win, Cincinnati now has a 55.4% chance to make the postseason, and New York's odds slumped to 44.6%.
The only other team in the running for the NL's third wild-card spot was the Diamondbacks, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 7-4 loss to the Padres on Friday night at Petco Park.
Elsewhere in the National League, pretty much everything else is decided. The Brewers, Phillies and Dodgers have all been crowned division champs, while the Cubs and Padres will enter the postseason bracket as wild-card teams.
Here's where everything stands in the National League as of Friday night:
National League Playoff Picture
NL DIVISION LEADERS
NL WILD CARD
More MLB on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as How Mets’ Loss to Marlins, Reds’ Win Impacts NL Playoff Picture.
