With NL East lead gone, Mets can't afford losses to last-place teams

The Mets' NL East lead, once 10.5 games, was officially erased on Tuesday night after the Braves escaped the Athletics with a 10-9 win. 

The Braves did something the Mets have struggled to do over recently: beat a last-place team. The Mets fell 7-1 to the Nationals on both Saturday and Sunday before losing 8-2 to the Pirates on Tuesday, leaving the team in a tie atop the division. The Pirates and Nationals are the bottom two teams in the National League with less than a month remaining. 

To add insult to injury, Max Scherzer was placed on the injured list with left side irritation, though he isn't expected to miss more than two starts. 

It was tough to blame the Mets for their gradually shrinking division lead until this recent stretch. The Braves have been dominant for more than three months now, with a 62-24 record since June and 21-5 record since losing a five-game series to the Mets in August. 

Atlanta has left no breathing room, and the Mets cannot afford to lose three straight to the Nationals and Pirates if they plan on making it out of the NL in October.

Winning the NL East would allow the Mets to enter the postseason as the NL's No. 2 seed, host the NLDS, and give veterans like Scherzer a chance to rest. 

Earning the top wild card spot would force the Mets into a three-game playoff against the second wild card team. Winning that series would almost certainly send the Mets to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers in the NLDS.

The NL East may come down to a three-game series between the Mets and Braves in Atlanta near the end of the season, but if the last few days are any indication, the Mets have to be wary of their series against the Nationals to close out the year.