Mets' missed opportunities vs. Marlins, A's make upcoming stretch crucial

How did a get-right homecoming week for the Mets turn out so wrong?

Going .500 against the A’s and Marlins was not the soft landing spot anyone imagined for the Mets coming off their turbulent West Coast trip. It hardly was the launching pad they envisioned heading into a brutal August stretch that very well could make or break their playoff push.

Carlos Mendoza & Co. can only hope they don’t look back at the past week while sitting at home in October, wondering what might have been. If so, they’ll think about blowing that early 5-0 lead to the A’s in Thursday’s 11-walk apocalypse, and especially Sunday’s missed chances in a 3-2 loss that spoiled a potential sweep of the Marlins at Citi Field.

Credit Miami for a pair of spectacular run-saving plays, including a four-man relay to cut down Mark Vientos trying to score from second base on Pete Alonso’s sacrifice fly in the first inning. Vientos is no speedster, but it still took a wall-crashing grab by centerfielder Derek Hill, who then alertly flipped to rightfielder Jesus Sanchez to complete the 8-9-4-2 putout at home.

The other came on Francisco Lindor’s moonshot in the ninth, when Cristian Pache — who took over in center for that inning — chased down the 399-foot drive to make a Willie Mays-style catch on the warning track. With runners at first and second, if that had dropped, Lindor’s rocket could’ve been the walk-off winner.

“I thought there was a chance of it at least hitting the wall,” Lindor said. “But I don’t know if the wind blew it or I’m just not strong enough to hit it to dead center like that.”

Lindor was smiling about that last part. A few innings earlier, he helped his growing case for NL MVP with a tying two-out RBI single in the fifth. But the Mets whiffed on a sweep Sunday by a matter of a few feet, and the way this wild-card race is shaping up, it’s surely going to be decided by the slimmest of margins.

Which is why they could regret going 6-6 against the Angels, Rockies, A’s and Marlins in their recent dozen games against those non-contending clubs.

The Mets are two games out of the third wild-card spot.

That’s hardly an insurmountable hill to climb with six weeks remaining in the season, but the schedule is about to get tougher.

With the Orioles (three) on deck Monday at Citi Field, followed by a pair of road series at the Padres (four) and Diamondbacks (three), would they sign up for .500 again for this upcoming 10-game stretch against penciled-in playoff teams?

Given the degree of difficulty, you’d have to say yes, but from what we’ve seen lately, just treading water in that deep end of the MLB pool feels like a tall order.

The Mets are 23-31 against winning clubs, and they don’t see another bottom-feeder until the pathetic White Sox on Aug. 30 in Chicago. Are they capable of bucking that trend?

“For sure, hell yeah,” Lindor said. “We want to be in the postseason, we better do it against those teams.”

The Mets may have to try without Brandon Nimmo, who was forced to leave Sunday’s game in the eighth inning with shoulder discomfort and will get an MRI on Monday. Nimmo landed hard on the shoulder while making a diving catch to save a run and end the seventh, then was checked out by a trainer after fouling off the first pitch of his at-bat in the bottom half. He stayed in, whiffed and never returned.

Nimmo had labored in a terrible slump since the All-Star break, but his go-ahead homer leading off the sixth was his second in three games. So just as he appeared to be rounding into his first-half All-Star self again, he could be lost indefinitely, which obviously would further destabilize the Mets during this shaky period.

“When you play teams that are in it, every pitch matters, so it’s going to be more like playoff baseball,” Nimmo said. “I expect the guys to show up and for good baseball to be played over the next couple weeks.”

If only it were as easy as flipping a switch for these Mets. After Luis Severino’s inspirational shutout gave the relief corps Saturday off, the bullpen door was the gateway to some familiar trouble Sunday as Reid Garrett’s three walks in the eighth set up Derek Hill’s go-ahead RBI single off Phil Maton with two outs.

The Mets have issued the second-most walks (475) in the majors this season — not surprisingly, the White Sox (495) are the top offender — and handing the opposition free trips on the bases is not a winning formula for a team living on the margins.

“They’re going to come back and bite you,” Mendoza said.

The past week left the Mets wearing plenty of teeth marks. And if those lapses continue, they’ll be nothing but chew toys for the big dogs lying in wait.

“Now we got teams in the hunt,” Lindor said. “And we better step up.”

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.