You heard that right. The Mets need the Pirates and Dodgers more than ever today to both win their games against the Reds and Diamondbacks, respectively, as well as the Mets taking Game Two against the Cubs. It’s time to flip your hat inside out, wear your jersey the wrong way, and put on your lucky pair of socks that you’ve been wearing anytime you need a little extra boost of luck because today is the endgame.

It really makes you scratch your head and think, huh? Those eight straight losses really affected the Mets’ chances to make the playoffs, and since both teams behind the Mets in the race for the third wild card have won their series against the Mets (Diamondbacks, Reds), it becomes imperative that we perform as expected today. But we cannot just rely on the Mets to win — we need all hands on deck to really make sure the Mets play in October.

As it stands today, the Mets’ magic number to reach the playoffs is 5, with only five games remaining. The Mets’ record is 81–76, and they are one game ahead in the standings, with the Reds and Diamondbacks eyeing the last spot. If the Mets win today, their magic number drops to 4 games — 5 − 1 = 4. If the Reds lose today, the magic number drops to 3 gamesbecause of the difference in W/L between both teams, and if the Diamondbacks also lose today, the Mets drop to 2 gamesto clinch a spot. If the Mets take the series, that’s 5 − 3 = 2, meaning only two losses are needed from their opponents to push the Mets up toward the Wild Card.

It’s complicated and built on a lot of hypotheticals, but there is a world, and there is a chance. Luckily for the Mets, they have the greatest young starter in the last 20 years to start against the Reds today — the same guy who will win the CY Young and the same pitcher to record the highest ERA+ to start a season since Vida Blue: none other than Paul Skenes. To make things better, Paul Skenes OWNS the Reds, reflected by his 4–0 record against them with a 0.39 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 4 starts.

As for the Diamondbacks, they are facing two-time CY Young award winner Blake Snell. When Snell is dominating, he is the best in the league. Although he’s been out of baseball a lot this season dealing with injuries, I have no doubt he will deliver. His stats against the Diamondbacks aren’t as breathtaking as Skenes’ starts against the Reds, but they are still more than serviceable. He has a 5–3 record in 11 appearances against Arizona, with an ERA of 2.26 and 83 strikeoutsin those games.

As for the pitcher the Mets have on their side: Jonah Tong, the same Jonah Tong who was awarded Best MiLB Pitcher for the 2025 season. He dominated the minors, leading with 179 strikeouts over 114 innings and posting a 1.43 ERAacross Double-A and Triple-A. Over the minors and majors this year, he has reached the 200-strikeout club. The promise and hype are there for Jonah Tong, and I believe he can bring us over the edge today with a win.

We just need Tong to be serviceable tonight — we’re not asking for crazy numbers. It is the biggest game of his young career, and it’s time he shows Mets fans why we hyped him up so much. If he can deliver half of what he gave the Mets in his last start against the Padres, the Mets are in good hands. He struck out 8 in 5 innings with zero walks.

I know I’m asking a lot, but if all of this happens — if the Reds and Diamondbacks lose and the Mets win — we can finally relax without feeling like it’s do-or-die every game. We do these three simple tasks today, even though two-thirds of them are out of our control, and we’re on the right track to playing October baseball. First things first: we must win tonight, and the rest will figure itself out.