Abbey Mastracco

The pitching situation for the Mets was once series-by-series, but after emptying the bullpen twice in Chicago earlier this week, it’s now game-by-game.

Wednesday night’s 11-3 loss to the Phillies went like so many of the Mets’ losses have gone since June.

The Mets (76-69) remain in third place in the NL Wild Card standings.

A Wild Card berth isn’t the worst thing, but it would still be a relatively disappointing finish.

This stat is particularly perplexing considering last season was defined by thrilling comeback victories.

The Mets will graduate another pitcher to the big leagues Sunday afternoon when Sproat, the club’s fifth-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, makes his big league debut.

The Mets did just enough to escape.

The Mets still hold the third spot in the National League Wild Card race, with a 4.5-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds, their weekend opponent.

Scoring 22 runs in the first two games of a three-game set against the top team in the American League helped them take the series.

McLean’s final line: 8.0 scoreless innings, no walks and six strikeouts, with his third win in as many tries.