Can Surging New York Mets Catch Fading Philadelphia Phillies in NL East?

Can the red-hot New York Mets overtake the slumping Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East?

Jul 31, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets center fielder Tyrone Taylor leaps at the wall. / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The dog days of August have officially arrived, but New York Mets fans have reason to be optimistic. For the first time in a while, they have a realistic chance of winning their division.

This seemed unthinkable just a few weeks ago, when the Philadelphia Phillies had the best record in baseball and a massive lead in the NL East standings. But the Phillies have since gone into a free fall, losing 11 of their last 15 games and opening the door for the Mets and Atlanta Braves to potentially catch them.

Entering play on Thursday, Philadelphia leads the Braves by 6.5 games and New York by eight games. With two months left in the regular season, either team could win the division if it just manages to gain one game a week.

The Mets have already gained considerable ground. They trailed the Phillies by 17.5 games in early June and were still 15 games back in early July. However, their recent hot streak combined with Philadelphia's shocking collapse has cut that deficit in half in just four weeks.

The National League East has seen some movement over the last month and a half of action

The Mets have gained nearly 10 games on the Phillies pic.twitter.com/FBb3lTLybf

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 31, 2024

New York has been playing excellent baseball for two months now, going 33-16 since June 2 and 15-7 since July 5, roaring back into the NL Wild Card race.

Interestingly enough, both teams begin August with pivotal 10-game road trips. The Phillies head west to face the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks, all playoff contending clubs.

Meanwhile, the Mets should have a much easier time on their trip. They'll also play the Mariners and have a makeup game against the St. Louis Cardinals, but they get six games against the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels -- two of the worst teams in baseball.

If Philadelphia continues to struggle and New York stays hot, the Mets could easily pick up a few more games in the standings. If that happens, the Mets will be in good shape to make a run down the stretch and possibly snatch first place away, especially with seven games against the Phillies remaining in September.

That's still a pretty big "if," but suddenly it doesn't seem so far-fetched anymore.