This is usually when the Mets disappear on us, in spirit, if not in body. The season continues, but the hope dies. Other teams stay relevant while the Mets fade away, their story lines an afterthought to all but the die-hards.
Yet there they were on Sunday night, on the national television stage, barging into a virtual first-place tie with an emphatic 5-2 victory over the Washington Nationals. Fans trekked into the upper reaches of Citi Field, and while it was not quite a sellout — with an announced crowd of 35,374, about 6,500 shy of capacity — it sounded like one.