Mets will miss McNeil's versatility but Iglesias' defense is sublime. Very few make that spectacular DP in 2nd inning today - dive to his left, turn and throw. Lindor made great play as well, handling low throw effortlessly. The 2 flashy DPs they turned may have changed the game.

Feels like Mets are at their most complete right now as they stretch streak to 9. Excellent starting pitching/defense. Diaz seems at top of his game again and bullpen is deep in front of him. Lindor/Vientos leading the offense but they're getting contributions up and down lineup.

Bader had the big HR today but even if he's not hitting much I'd have him in there every day the rest of the way. His CF defense is a difference-maker.

On 8/28 Diaz blew that game in Ariz. and it felt like the the WC was slipping away. 9 straight wins later the Mets have gained 5 games on the Braves to go 1 ahead - and tied in losses w/D-Backs. They're also a whopping 25 games over .500 since they were 24-35 on 6/2. What a ride.

So the Padres lost as well. Everything WC-related is up for grabs for the Mets. And it's worth remembering Pads/DBacks play each other final 3 games of season. One of them has to lose ground, and Mets have tiebreaker on each of them.

Loss vs. Reds today kind of felt inevitable. Lindor has cooled off and Mets need more offense from others. Starting pitching continues to be great, however, as Severino dealt, and that's prob most significant. 9-game winning streak over. Back to tied with Braves.

Missed it live, just went back and watched Torrens throw out De La Cruz stealing second. Wow. Throw beat baseball's best base-stealer by a mile. Torrens now 13-for-20 caught-stealings, a spectacular percentage. Hard to sit him unless Alvarez suddenly starts hitting.

Would have to give Megill another start. Potential for dominance always there when he can command his stuff as he did tonight, avoid the mistake pitches. Brilliant vs. Jays, allowed 1 hit with 9 K's, 15 swings-and-misses. Would have let him start the 7th the way he was cruising.

That looked like the Ryne Stanek from his best years w/Astros, which would be a huge development for the Mets bullpen. Struck out the side as FB clocked as high as 99.4 mph, per Statcast, with nasty split. Lately seems to have figured out command issues that hurt him this season.

So Braves got 2 hits and lost 1-0 while Mets got 3 hits and won 3-2. Potentially a pivotal night in WC race. Mets obviously got some breaks with walks, WP and PB in the 8th but hot/good teams take advantage and that seems to sum up the way they're playing, winning 10 of 11.

The obvious concern is whether Mets will hit enough with Lindor and Vientos both suddenly searching at the plate and McNeil out for season. Onus is on Nimmo and Alonso, especially, to get it going. Nimmo down to .227, almost hard to believe. Alonso continues to struggle w/RISP.

Re Mets' starting pitching, Mark DeRosa on MLB Network this morning: "This rotation's not getting enough love, people." DeRosa was referencing stat board showing Mets' starters have a 3.52 ERA since July 1, third-best in MLB behind Mariners, Astros.

Another bullpen meltdown costs Jays. We'll mull it over with Dan Shulman and do a deep dive into the Mets with John Harper while checking in on the NL West race with Bob Nightengale 4-6 ET @Fan590 Sportsnet sportsnet.ca/590/blair-bark…

Not much to break down re Mets tonight. Peterson, so good lately, was bound to have a clunker at some point. Bigger issue is the offense. Mets had squeaked out wins but haven't hit much lately. Only 6 runs/13 hits in last 3 games. Obviously can't afford a team-wide slump now.

Mets have had a bunch of wins in last few weeks that make it feel like a special season in the making, none more so than this one. Truly an MVP-type moment for Lindor, breaking up that no-hitter with 9th inning HR and tying the game. As clutch as it gets.

Manaea brilliant again. Because he's given up a few late HRs, his ERA doesn't quite reflect his dominance since adopting the Sale delivery. Consider: in last 9 starts he's pitched 58 innings and given up just 32 hits while racking up 70 K's. The guy has turned into a monster.

Some credit to Mendoza: played Alvarez in a day-game spot where he'd usually start Torrens because he thought the slumping young catcher was having better at-bats last few days. Good feel-for-the-game move that paid off with the put-away HR in 9th.

So Braves lose and Mets go ahead again in WC race. Likely will be more pivotal moments ahead but have to bookmark that Lindor HR today as one to look back on. Have a column coming with insight from a scout on Bowden throwing 0-2 mistake FB rather than splitter to Lindor.

Column for sny.tv: Why did Francis throw Lindor a down-the-middle 0-2 FB rather than a splitter? Scout I spoke to was shocked, offered his insight but concluded, "Sometimes it's just your year. Watching the Mets it kind of feels that way." tinyurl.com/ufycb6pf

Column for sny.tv, ICYMI: A scout points out that control specialist Francis barely missed a spot all day until that 0-2 pitch to Lindor, leading him to conclude: "Sometimes it's just your year. It feels that way with the Mets right now." tinyurl.com/ufycb6pf