New York Mets

          Morning Briefing: Wild card or bust for Mets?

          NEW YORK -- Is it now wild card or bust for the New York Mets?

          The Mets headed into the All-Star break on Sunday having lost the final three games of a four-game series to the Washington Nationals at Citi Field.

          That dropped the Mets a season-high-matching six games behind Washington for first place in the National League East.

          The Mets and Miami Marlins actually have identical records, tied for the second in the division.

          It is certainly not a given that the Mets qualify for the postseason.

          If the Nationals, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants maintain their healthy division leads, the Los Angeles Dodgers (51-40), Mets (47-41), Marlins (47-41), St. Louis Cardinals (46-42) and Pittsburgh Pirates (46-43) will be vying for two wild-card spots.

          Jeurys Familia, Bartolo Colon, Noah Syndergaard, Terry Collins and the coaching staff flew to San Diego after the first-half finale to represent the Mets in Sunday’s All-Star Game. Syndergaard will not pitch because of what the Mets have labeled arm fatigue.

          The Mets resume play Friday in Philadelphia. They hope Yoenis Cespedes (strained right quadriceps) will be available by then, but are not sure the muscle will have sufficiently healed.

          Collins has not yet announced his rotation out of the All-Star break, other than to say Syndergaard will go to the back end of the first turn to maximize his rest. The team’s web site lists Jacob deGrom as Friday’s starter.

          MONDAY’S NEWS REPORTS:

          • Why again did the Mets let Daniel Murphy depart as a free agent last winter? Murphy produced a two-run homer against Steven Matz in the first inning and Washington beat the Mets, 3-2, Sunday. Jose Reyes produced two homers in the loss. Murphy is now hitting .423 (22-for-52) with seven homers and 21 RBIs in 13 games against the Mets this season. That RBI total is the most by a major leaguer against a club for which he played the previous season since the Yankees’ Roger Maris had 27 RBIs against the Kansas City Athletics in 1960, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Read game recaps in the Post, Daily News, Times, Newsday, Record and at NJ.com and MLB.com.

          • In the Futures Game on Sunday night in San Diego, Dominic Smith went 0-for-4 with an RBI, while Dilson Herrera and Amed Rosario each went 1-for-2 with a run scored. Herrera also produced an RBI.

          • Rehabbing Jim Henderson allowed a hit in a scoreless first inning in Binghamton’s 8-4 loss to New Hampshire. St. Lucie was no-hit by a trio of pitchers in a 4-0 loss to Clearwater. Kevin Kaczmarski doubled twice, but Columbia was blanked by Augusta, 3-0. Thomas Szapucki allowed one unearned run in five innings in Kingsport’s 10-2 win against Danville. Nick Serkakis’ first pro homer broke a late tie and first-round pick Justin Dunn benefited from a triple play to earn his first win as Brooklyn edged Hudson Valley, 4-3. Ranfy Adon produced a walk-off grand slam to lift the GCL Mets over the GCL Cardinals, 10-9. Read the full minor-league recap here.

          • Collins suggested it would be difficult to foresee keeping Brandon Nimmo at the major league level once Michael Conforto returns from Las Vegas because the manager cannot provide enough playing time to justify it. Read more in the Post.

          • Columnist Mike Vaccaro in the Post weighs in on the Mets citing 2015 as a rallying cry. Writes Vaccaro: “They are a half-game ahead of last year’s pace (though four deeper back in the standings), and things were to get much worse before they got better by the end of last July. So, yes: Perhaps knowing they did it a year ago can be a helpful guide. But it can also be a damaging crutch, because if the Mets wait too long to fire their engine in the weeks to come, they could be looking at some awfully rough patches of highway.”

          • Writes columnist John Harper in the Daily News: “Expecting a similar second-half charge seems unrealistic, which is why the Mets really couldn’t afford the two-game swing on Sunday. Not the way this band of Murphys is playing.”

          • Andrew Beaton in the Journal reviews the state of the Mets.

          • Columnist David Lennon in Newsday wonders if the first-base prospect Smith may be traded.

          • Read more on Murphy’s dominance against the Mets in the Post and Newsday.

          • Read more on Reyes’ two-homer game in the Post, Daily News and at NJ.com.

          • Read more on Matz’s performance in the Post.

          • Read more on Cespedes’ injury progress in Newsday.

          • From the bloggers … Mets Report suggests Sunday’s loss is emblematic of the season.

          BIRTHDAYS: Blaine Boyer turns 35. ... Mark Little is 44. … Donne Wall is 49. … Jack Heidemann is 67. … Luis Carpio is 19. … Connor Buchmann is 23.

          TWEET OF THE DAY:

          YOU’RE UP: Will the Mets make the playoffs?