With a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates last night, the New York Mets upped their record to 74-73. The last time the Mets were above .500? April 5, when they stood at 2-1.
The resurgence has done more than get the Mets back on track - it's plunged them into a pennant race and forced New Yorkers to conjure up long-since abandoned hope. New York trails the Atlanta Braves by just five games, with 15 contests remaining in the season. Six of those games come against Atlanta, meaning the Mets have a difficult road ahead. But each win over Atlanta would move the Mets a whole game up in the standings.
After falling 14 games under .500 on Aug. 17, the Mets have gone on a remarkable 20-5 stretch, culminating in last night's 9-2 win over the Pirates. Todd Zeile and Mike Piazza homered for the second straight night.
The Mets have won eight consecutive series, and while they had been playing inspired ball before last week's tragedy, it seems that the team is even more focused this week - wanting to give New Yorkers something to cheer about.
In order to honor the heroes who risked or lost their lives trying to rescue those stuck in the World Trade Center, the Mets have worn hats with the NYPD, NYFD, and EMT insignias.
The Mets will get their first crack at the Braves this Friday night, when they come to town for the first game in front of New York fans since the tragedy. The atmosphere inside Shea Stadium, which has been used as a staging area for rescue workers over the past week, should rouse emotions.
While the Mets paid tribute to victims with their hats, Major League Baseball is also showing its support t stitching an American flag on the back of each player's jersey.
After Tuesday night's dramatic 9-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, the St. Louis Cardinals jumped atop the NL Wild Card leader board. Four teams - the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies - are within four games of the Cards. The divisional races are just as tight, as none of the three divisional leaders - the Braves, the Houston Astros, and the Arizona Diamondbacks - have more than a 4 1-2 game advantage over the second place team.
Just as the Cardinals are trying to wrap up the Wild Card, their best player - 21-year-old Albert Pujols - is looking to complete the greatest season ever by an NL rookie. After 144 games, Pujols' statistics are shocking - 35 homeruns, 117 RBI's, 99 runs scored, and .336 batting average.
Much has been made of the amazing "rookie" season that Ichiro Suzuki is compiling for the Seattle Mariners but Pujols' standout season should not be overshadowed. The youngster needs three more home runs to tie the NL rookie homerun record, shared by Frank Robinson and Wally Berger.
Lost in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks has been Barry Bonds' pursuit of home run history. Prior to the six-day layoff, Bonds was on yet another one of his homerun tears. With 63 homeruns through 145 games, Bonds is on pace to tie Mark McGwire's 1998 record of 70. In his first game back following the mourning period, the slugger was held homerless.
