Mets stepping up in class with matchups against Dodgers, Padres and Angels

The Mets’ 10 1/2-game lead entering June was tied for the largest in National League history with the 1971 Giants. Only the 2001 Mariners (14) and 2017 Astros (11) had bigger cushions.

All of those teams finished in first place.

Just the Astros* won the World Series (illegally).

What does that mean for the Mets? Practically nothing. Other than probably making Buck Showalter smirk at such long-term projections.

Despite wrapping a perfect homestand (6-0) with Wednesday’s 5-0 victory over the Nationals, and the Mets now headed to the West Coast for a pivotal 10-game visit to the Dodgers, Padres and Angels, Showalter wasn’t in the mood to talk about litmus tests, or measuring sticks, or attaching some dramatic significance to what lies ahead in Hollywood.

“I don’t overthink it,” Showalter said. “You get in trouble when you start overthinking things ... We’re getting ready to play the Dodgers in Los Angeles. That’s about where the thought process ends for us. Let everybody else figure stuff out before it happens. We’re into the here and now.”

I could have told you Buck wasn’t going to be much help in hyping up this SoCal swing. We all know him well enough by now. But that’s what I’m paid to do, so let’s try to put the month ahead in perspective.

Historically, June has not been kind to the Mets. They haven’t had a winning record in June since 2012, but did finish .500 twice, both last season (15-15) and 2017 (14-14). And this particular June is a doozy.

At least the Mets had Wednesday’s stroll over the Nats as a tuneup. Tomas Nido carried the Next Man Up torch with a career-high four hits as well as three RBIs, including a two-run double. Francisco Lindor’s sacrifice fly stretched his RBI streak to 10 games, tying Mike Piazza for the second longest in franchise history. Carlos Carrasco hung around long enough (five innings, five walks, five strikeouts) to deliver an emotional 'W' for his dad, Luis, seeing him pitch in person for the first time in his major-league career.

But the Nats, two years removed from a title, are a JV club at this point. What awaits the Mets over the rest of this month is a step up in weight class. Over the next 24 games, they’ll face teams that entered Wednesday with a combined .586 winning percentage (173-122), including three division leaders in the Dodgers, Brewers and Astros.

If you remove the seven-game breather against the Marlins (19-27) -- a team that traditionally is a pest to the Mets anyway, regardless of their record -- that winning percentage jumps to .618 (154-95). Once you factor in the Dodgers’ deep stable of All-Stars along with an MLB-best plus-116 run-differential (the Mets are plus-77), they’ll quickly realize Chavez Ravine isn’t the cozy NL East sandbox.

“It’s going to be a good challenge,” Carrasco said. “I think we’re prepared for it.”

He’s not wrong in that estimation. Just who is this really a test for? The Mets? Or do the Dodgers, Padres and Angels have something to prove themselves against a team that already has trashed its own division as if they hosted a weekend banger with their parents out of town?

As Showalter likes to remind us, there’s a long way to go. But 52 games isn’t a small sample size, and being 18 games over .500 (35-17) for the first time since the end of the 2015 season is significant, especially for a group that’s continued to roll despite having nine players on the IL. The Mets aren’t just treading water as they wait for Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer to return. They’re still dominating, with a confidence and cohesion that suggests a team on a mission.

“We’re playing good baseball,” said Lindor, who’s batting .323 with 24 RBIs and a .964 OPS in the 18 games since hitting a season-low .229 on May 13. “Regardless of who steps in, we all get to contribute.”

Lindor likes to push that full-roster narrative, but he’s playing like a superstar now, the $341 million engine he was paid to be. And the other Mets aren’t just along for the ride. No deficit is too big these days, no setback too daunting to overcome.

That’s why this West Coast trip, and the whole month for that matter, is nowhere near as scary as years past. Think of that 10 1/2-game lead as an insurance policy, just in case things go sideways in the weeks ahead. But the way the Mets are performing as such a high level, there’s no reason to expect that.

“I always look at the season in monthly increments,” Showalter said. “So we’ll play it that way and see what the season has in store for us. Right now our goal is to try and win our division. It’s going to be hard.”

Hard? Doubtful. But stepping out of the NL East this month is going to be a challenge, as June always is for the Mets. You get the sense, however, this year is different.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.