Two-week turning point that transformed this Mets season

Wilmer Flores (left), Yoenis Cespedes (top right) and Juan UribeIt was just before 9:30 on the evening of July 29 when a most extraordinary thing appeared on television screens across New York City. The Mets had been playing just well enough — and their daily travails were just interesting enough — that SNY’s ratings had experienced a strong surge most of the summer.

So more folks were watching the Mets play the Padres than would have been watching in 2014, or 2012, or 2010, even though San Diego led the game, 7-2. And so more folks than you’d imagine were treated to one of the most surreal sights of the sporting year.

The camera focused on Wilmer Flores, stepping to the plate in the bottom…