NEW YORK _ The preliminaries are over for the Mets. Now come the main events.
The Mets completed their 13-1 feast of the worst teams on their schedule (they don't play the Orioles) on Wednesday with their sixth straight victory, a 7-2 win over the Marlins, the finishing touches on their four-game sweep of the worst team south of Baltimore.
Thursday is a day off for the Mets, a time to reflect on how they've put themselves back in contention for a wild-card berth and, at 59-56, are relevant again.
Then they should consider what's ahead: in 10 of their next 11 series they'll be matched against teams with winning records, beginning with a three-game series against Washington, another playoff contender, that begins Friday night at Citi Field, and a series against the NL East-leading Braves in Atlanta that starts Monday night.
"You want to play the best teams," said manager Mickey Callaway. "That's going to define who you are."
Right now, the Mets are the most improved team in the majors. They're a league-best 19-6 since the All-Star break and 32-20 at home, after being 37-44 last season. Plus they will play 29 of their final 47 games at Citi Field.
Their latest victory was a lot like so many others they've played recently. Steven Matz provided a quality start (two runs in 6 2/3 innings) and Michael Conforto homered twice and Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil also homered.
The Mets scored in the first inning for the seventh straight game as Conforto drew a two-out walk off losing pitcher Jordan Yamamoto (4-3) and Alfonso followed with his 37th home run. More importantly, it was the third consecutive game the rookie slugger has gone deep, alleviating fears that he was mired in a post Home Run Derby slump.
Conforto's first homer, that upped the Mets' lead to 4-1, was also a two-run, two-out shot. Matz had singled to start the inning and came home on Conforto's 24thhomer, that landed a couple of feet to the left of the right field foul line.
McNeil's homer, his 15th, and Conforto's second four-bagger, both off reliever Jose Quijada, were part of a three-run seventh inning that put the game away.
In evening his record at 7-7, Matz survived a one-run second inning in which the Marlins helped out with shoddy baserunning and a solo homer by Brian Anderson in the sixth inning.
Matz, who threw 103 pitches, struck out seven before leaving when Bryan Holaday doubled with two outs in the seventh. Reliever Justin Wilson gave up a soft single by pinch-hitter Martin Prado, but bounced back to strike out Jon Berti.
