The Mets have climbed into first place and finally energized their fan base, as evidenced by a packed house at Citi Field on Saturday night — presumably not everyone was there just for the Ne-Yo concert following the game.
What they haven’t done is beat the Pirates, in two games this weekend or five for the season. They haven’t beaten the Cubs either, and they’re 9-19 against the NL Central, which houses the best teams in the league.
Not that they’ve been overmatched, losing twice in extra innings to the Pirates in this series, including Saturday night’s 5-3 defeat in 14 innings.