There’s always baseball happening, sometimes too much for one human brain to process without melting like a helmet full of nacho cheese. But last night? Oh, you’re going to want the recap. Especially if you live in Ohio or if you’re a New York baseball fan currently screaming into a pillow.
Let’s set the scene. The New York Mets and Yankees both started the week sitting in the MLB’s wild-card spots. Fast-forward to Thursday night, and the state of Ohio is breathing down their necks, and not in the fun, romantic way. The Reds didn’t even play on Thursday, yet somehow gained ground. Why? Because the Mets played baseball, which lately has been another way of saying the Mets lost baseball.
New York Mets Blow It Again
According to FoxSports, up 3-2 on the Braves heading into the eighth inning, New York was on the verge of winning the series and grabbing just their third win of August. But then… Ozzie Albies happened. Again. Albies had already launched his 10th homer of the season off Mets starter Kodai Senga in the fourth inning, then drove in another run with a sixth-inning single. Senga’s line was actually decent, 5.2 innings, 2 runs, 7 strikeouts, just 1 walk, but this bullpen, man.
Enter Ryan Helsley, fresh from the Cardinals via the trade deadline. He allowed a Michael Harris II double to tie the game in the eighth, then Albies drove in the go-ahead run. Braves bullpen locks it down for two innings, Mets go quietly into the night. Again.
Here’s the thing: the Braves are 16 games back in the NL East, sitting at 53-68, yet they’re 7-3 against the Mets this season. If New York had even managed to win three more of those games, they’d be just two games back of the Phillies and have a comfy wild-card cushion. Instead? They’re five back of Philly and only half a game ahead of the Reds.
Now, yes, Cincinnati’s got a brutal weekend against the Brewers, who are riding a 12-game win streak that could tie the MLB’s longest this season (and the longest in franchise history) if they hit 13. But the fact that the Reds are even this close right now is a mess entirely of New York’s making. If this trend holds, it might be Cincinnati, not the Mets, playing in October.
Cleveland Guardians Begin to Close In
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians are basically running the same playbook in the AL. They did play Thursday, while the Yankees had the night off, and took the opportunity to creep within just half a game of New York’s wild card spot. The fans have also been a huge boost for the team. “Ohio against the world,” one wrote on X.
Cleveland wrapped up their series with the Marlins, and José Ramírez decided he was going to personally make sure they won the finale, 9-3. The stat line? Pure chaos in motion: 3-for-4, all singles, 2 stolen bases, 3 runs scored, and an RBI.
First inning? Single, steal second, advance to third on a wild pitch, score on a groundout. Fifth inning? Single, steal second, score on a sac fly. Seventh inning? Single, advance to second on a throwing error, move to third on a groundout, score again..
The Ohio Takeover?
So here we are: two New York teams holding onto wild-card spots like a greased-up football, and two Ohio teams circling like sharks. The Reds are lurking right behind the Mets, the Guardians are right on the Yankees’ heels, and there’s still a lot of baseball left. If you’re in New York, you might want to start rooting for Wisconsin to humble the Reds this weekend, and maybe pray the Braves stop treating the Mets like a chew toy.
If you’re in Cleveland or Cincinnati, Ohio? Well, you might be seeing two postseason teams come October. And knowing how New York sports media works, you’ll probably hear about it every day until then.
