It’s all tied up.
The Mets were hammered by the Pirates, 8-2, on Tuesday night. And the Braves downed the Athletics, 10-9. So for the first time since opening day, the NL East is a dead heat.
The Amazins and the reigning world champions are knotted up with identical 85-51 records. The Mets have lost 10.5 games in the standings since June 1 despite playing at an almost 100-win pace. The Braves have just been that hot. And now it’s a 26-game sprint to the finish.
The sidebars: Edwin Diaz is going to be one of many high-profile Mets free agents. And the Yankees are arguably in need of a closer. Here’s why it would make sense for the Bombers to make a big swing.
In other free agency news, Yankees president Randy Levine was asked about Aaron Judge’s future by The Post. And he said a great deal.
The standings: The Mets are tied with the Braves for the NL East lead. And they have a five-game edge on the Cardinals for the No. 2 seed in the NL postseason. The Yankees (81-54) have a 4.5-game lead on the Rays atop the AL East. The lead in the loss column is four games. And they have a 10.5-game lead on the Guardians for the No. 2 seed in the AL postseason (10 in the loss column).
The schedule: The Yankees will play a doubleheader against the Twins in the Bronx. The games will start at 3:05 p.m. and 6:35 p.m. And the Mets will have a doubleheader in Pittsburgh with games starting at 12:35 p.m. and 6:35 p.m.
More on ESNY:
• Giants thoughts as regular season begins: Blake Martinez, Darius Slayton, more
• Yankees send Anthony Rizzo to IL with continual headaches
• NY sports reporter reported dead (and eulogized during Yankees game) is still alive
• Craig Carton’s FS1 show has debuted. Some quick thoughts
• 5 big New York sports talk storylines as fall battle begins
• Nets’ best-case scenario: From nightmare to championship dream
James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch.
