The Mets have to figure it out while their playoff fate is still in their hands

MILWAUKEE — The Mets had a ticket to two to four more regular-season games before playing here Saturday night in one of the most unusual and perhaps unfortunate season finishes ever. Their chances of making the playoffs look good on paper (more on that below), but they still have more problems than games, no matter how many there are – whether it’s two, three or four.

1. The Mets played poorly in the first few games of their most momentous journey (but the combinations and permutations still work somewhat positively, believe it or not). As hard as it is to believe, they could prevail here, but they can’t be eliminated before their elimination as they held the tiebreaker over the also-struggling Diamondbacks.

2. JD Martinez, a noted hitting expert, fell to 0 for his last 35 after his pop fly that bounced off the glove of Brewers second baseman Brice Turang was ruled an error on Friday. (Martinez was not in the squad on Saturday).

3. Francisco Lindor appeared to be hurt, although he scored two goals in his first full game in two weeks. It’s uncomfortable to bend over, so shortstop is not easy now.

“The pain would come and go, so I’m comfortable with that,” Lindor said after the Mets lost their first game here, 8-4, to a Brewers team that looked better. (The Mets noticed, too, and Lindor made a downhill appearance on Saturday.)

4. You can’t stop Milwaukee’s running game. The Brewers stole six bases on Friday, not to mention adding bases on two wild pitches and a passed ball, as the Mets hurried to defeat baseball’s fastest team (Turang, Garrett Mitchell and Blake Perkins look like three quarters of an Olympic sprint team).

5. Francisco Alvarez is also in pain. He left with back spasms, and although he’s “much better,” they replaced him in the lineup Saturday with Luis Torrens, whom they picked up from the Yankees for pocket money ($100,000).

6. Unless they can avoid the trip back to Atlanta due to a combination of three Mets wins and D-Backs losses, their pitching will soon become chaotic due to the likely need to play a game or two in the South. Manager Carlos Mendoza admitted he considered cutting Sean Manaea, Friday’s starter, after falling behind 5-0 early in hopes of saving bullets.

A big plus: It is assumed that they will not have to return to Atlanta on Monday, when both teams are already there and only the seedings have to be decided. What’s notable is that while they still managed to clinch a playoff spot on Saturday afternoon, they couldn’t be eliminated here, even after accomplishing nothing positive on this trip other than defeating Hurricane Helene in Atlanta.

Speaking of nothing positive, Martinez, whose career 131 OPS is on par with Hall of Famers Tony Oliva, Rod Carew and Wade Boggs, hasn’t had a hit in what seems like a month. Mendoza included him in the lineup after being out of the starting lineup for a week. But after scoring another zero point, he’s back on the bench.

“I thought I felt good tonight… [but] The evidence is obvious,” Martinez admitted.

The Mets offense is now on its head. The biggest contributors continue to be Mark Vientos and Jose Iglesias, the rookie and extreme veteran who began the season in the minors. Meanwhile, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo are having mediocre seasons statistically – at least based on slashes – and Martinez is even worse.

With 34 home runs, Alonso is among the NL leaders, but by his previous standards, his platform year is undoubtedly below his norm. He is also looking for a special moment. (Now might be a good time?)

Nimmo is improving his base-stealing, getting some big hits (believe it or not, he’s fourth in the NL in win probability, however you calculate that), and having just about the worst luck ever you can imagine. The poor guy fired several shots over the foul pole, which were ruled a foul based on guesswork. (He said there was discussion about extending the pole, and we hope so!)

With Lindor in pain, Jeff McNeil in sickbay, and the biggest jerks in pseudo-slumps, maybe the stars need to start shining. Vientos and Iglesias need help.

The Mets don’t technically need outside help, but another loss will send them packing. It’s in their hands. The three-way tie heading into Saturday’s games (plus the tiebreaker lead against at least Arizona) gives them a lot of hope. But they need to show a better version of themselves.

There are still too many ways to catalog them in this area. But suffice to say, their chances of advancing past the preliminary round were somewhat dented by the prospect of another unwanted trip to Atlanta. And a second dud in a row didn’t help.

But hope is far from lost. And they stick to it.

“We didn’t play our best,” Mendoza said, “but this team has been through a lot.”

They came back after 11 games, so they’re confident they can get it done – whether they have two games left, three or possibly four.