Tucked in the lower-right-hand corner of the giant video board in center field at Citi Field, a new graphic appeared Friday. It promoted a matchup that is still more than a month away, when the Washington Nationals visit on Oct. 2, the final weekend of the regular season.
It was less an advertisement than a reminder: There are big, big games to come for the Mets, who returned home after a gilded road trip that saw their lead over Washington in the National League East swell to six and a half games. Back home, a boisterous, near-sellout crowd of 39,401 feted them like conquering heroes.