Too little. Too late.
Before the Mets even took the field Wednesday night, as they desperately tried to keep their season alive, they could see the Brewers — who needed to lose all five of their remaining games while the Mets won all five — had a six-run lead.
Suddenly, their incredibly long odds got even longer, and it hardly mattered what Jacob deGrom did in the Mets’ 10-3 win over the Marlins at Citi Field.
DeGrom was fantastic once again, pitching seven scoreless innings for a third straight start and allowing just two hits, but the Mets were eliminated from playoff contention when the Brewers closed out a 9-2 win over the Reds while the Mets were in the bottom of the eighth inning.
DeGrom finished the season with 23 straight shutout innings, eliminating any real debate about whether he would pick up his second NL Cy Young Award in a row.
To add another cruel twist, a Mets offense that has struggled mightily just about every time deGrom has pitched erupted in a largely empty Citi Field.
The Mets scored three in the first and four more in the second, capped by Pete Alonso’s three-run bomb that made it 7-0 against right-hander Robert Dugger.
It was Alonso’s 51st homer, leaving him just one shy of Aaron Judge’s rookie record, set two years ago with the Yankees.
Run-scoring doubles by Amed Rosario and Brandon Nimmo gave the Mets a 9-0 lead in the third.
DeGrom, meanwhile, retired the final 14 batters he faced after Tyler Heineman’s pinch-hit double in the third.
“He’s worked so hard for this,” manager Mickey Callaway said before the game of a potential Cy Young. “He deserves this award. I think he can solidify that [Thursday].’’
He did, with another brilliant performance.
But it wasn’t enough to keep the Mets’ microscopic hopes alive.
The night got worse when Jeff McNeil suffered a fractured right wrist when he was drilled by a pitch from Josh Smith in the bottom of the sixth. He was replaced by Juan Lagares.
DeGrom left after seven innings again, pinch-hit for by Rajai Davis in the bottom of the inning.
If that’s it for deGrom — and Callaway said before the game if the Mets were eliminated, deGrom’s season would be over — he will finish with a 2.43 ERA and 255 strikeouts in 204 innings