History is littered with examples of the New York Mets collapsing. After struggling in the first game of a crucial series in Atlanta, it’s excusable, and expected, for supporters of the Mets to think “Here we go again.”

Rewind back to 2007. With 17 games left in the regular season, the Mets were ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies by seven games for first place in the NL East. To boot, they were ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks by a game for the best record in the NL. However, they went 5-12 over the final 17 (against a relatively weak schedule), choking away the division to the Phillies. To add insult to injury, the Mets had Hall of Famer Tom Glavine on the mound for the last game of the year, with a chance to tie the Phillies for the division, and the Padres and Rockies for the Wild Card. Glavine allowed seven runs in 0.2 inning to the Marlins, and the Mets lost.

The collapse of 2022 may be even more monumental, even though they ended up making the playoffs as a Wild Card. The roster boasted likely future Hall of Famers Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and manager Buck Showalter, but the pitching down the wire struggled, similar to 2007. The 2022 Mets squandered many opportunities to clinch the division and a first round bye. Instead, they lost five of their final six games, against the Braves and Padres, and finished in a tie with Atlanta at 101-61. The Braves held the tiebreaker, the Mets took on the Padres in the Wild Card, and lost in three games.

The constant in the collapses was the performance of the Mets starting pitchers. Coming back to present day, 2024’s Mets are facing the Braves in their second to last series of the year. They entered the series two games ahead of the Braves for the final Wild Card spot, and 0.5 game ahead of the Diamondbacks.

Manager Carlos Mendoza handed the ball to Luis Severino to start the first game of the critical series in Atlanta. Severino was pulled after four innings, allowing four runs. The Mets held the Braves scoreless over the final three innings, but the damage was done. New York’s bats were essentially silent against Atlanta starter Spencer Schwellenbach, who went seven strong innings and allowed only one run (a solo home run by Mark Vientos). The Atlanta win cut the Mets lead to one game over the Braves, and New York stayed a 0.5 game ahead of the Diamondbacks.

Mets fans are antsy to not have a “Here we go again” collapse in 2024. With a strong pitching staff, an energetic and smart manager, and good hitters, the components are there to avoid a collapse. However, the Mets have been there, done that before. Hurricane Helene has impacted the final two games of the Braves series. That sets up a critical make-up doubleheader between these two teams on Monday, with the playoffs starting Tuesday. In between, the Mets travel to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers. Yes, the same Brewers that swept the Mets in New York to start the season. The Braves are at home to take on the Kansas City Royals.

Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild, and delayed, ride to the finish.