Mets starting to look up after sweeping Pirates

The Mets will be a different team the next time they play at Citi Field. Anyone could have told you that on Sunday afternoon, even before the stunning news that they had acquired Long Island-born-and-raised pitcher Marcus Stroman from the Blue Jays. What with the trade deadline hovering, word was out that the Mets were open for business — the business of selling.

Fact is, they got an early jump on looking different. Even before making any personnel moves in anticipation of the Wednesday deadline, they completed a 5-1 week, finished with a four-game winning streak and closed out a three-game sweep of the Pirates, 8-7.

So despite being five games under .500 and six games out of the final National League wild-card spot and facing the possibility of a minor or thorough housecleaning, people in the Mets’ clubhouse insisted that everyone — starting with general manager Brodie Van Wagenen — should take a different view of their chances this season.

“I feel like we’re syncing things up,” Mickey Callaway said after his club splurged for six runs in the first inning, carried a five-run lead into the ninth and held on for dear life against a very lackluster opponent.

No, that is not a misprint. He actually said “syncing things up,” meaning getting parts moving together. He didn’t say “stinking things up,” which is what they have done for most of the season.

“The bullpen is performing, we’re scoring some runs consistently, our starters have been outstanding,” Callaway said before the team left for Chicago and a series with the White Sox. “That’s the recipe for wins, and we’ve been doing that. We’ve got to continue to do it. No matter what decisions are made, we’ve got to continue to plug along and play our best baseball and win as many games as we can.”

Acknowledging that “a manager always wants to keep a team together,” Callaway added: “I think that Brodie understands that I know we can win now. He knows we can win now. There’s a reality to every situation. We both feel like we can win and get on a run and get into this thing.”

Maybe, maybe not. On Sunday at Citi Field, the Mets got some solid performances, such as 5 2⁄3 innings from starter and winner Jason Vargas (6-5), who had been among those considered most likely to be an ex-Met by midweek. There also was a key stretch of 2 1⁄3 innings of scoreless, hitless relief by Seth Lugo and Justin Wilson.

Also on the plus side, there was the 20th home run of the season by Michael Conforto. That occurred in that first inning, before Todd Frazier, J.D. Davis (2-for-3) and Amed Rosario each drove in a run with a single.

On the other hand, Tyler Bashlor and Edwin Diaz each allowed a two-run home run in the ninth before the latter recorded his 23rd save.

The best argument for trading Noah Syndergaard and/or Zack Wheeler was on the mound for the Pirates. Starter Chris Archer (3-8) was acquired from the Rays last July 31 in what was a prospect-filled heist for Tampa Bay.

In a surprising twist, the Mets now have two pitchers who were big prospects 10 years ago. Stroman and new teammate Steven Matz faced each other on April 16, 2009, in one of the biggest games in Long Island high school baseball history. Matz’s Ward Melville team defeated Stroman’s Patchogue-Medford squad, 1-0. Each pitched a complete game. Stroman and Matz struck out 14 and 12, respectively. The former was acquired a day after the latter pitched his first major-league complete game and shutout.

Any deal that helps the Mets right now is fine with current team members.

“We can’t change the season overnight. Things will start to turn if we keep playing the way we’ve been playing,” Conforto said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen here in a couple days, but it’s not something we can really focus on. It’s not something we can control. We’re just going to focus on baseball, keep playing, and hopefully we get to keep most of the guys in here.”