The New York Mets cannot afford to slip up with the regular season coming to a close and their playoff standing remaining on shaky ground. But this four-game series they're currently in against the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies could not be going any worse . Following a 1-0 defeat on Monday, the Mets were punched hard on the mouth on Tuesday as they suffered a 9-3 defeat — widening the gap between them and the Phillies to nine games.

But the Phillies may not be the Mets' biggest problem at the moment. With that latest defeat, their Wild Card standing is far from safe. In fact, with the San Francisco Giants' 5-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday, the Mets' lead over them for the third and final Wild Card spot is down to two games. And with 17 games left in the regula

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