May was miserable in Queens.
As the month drew to a close, the Mets had just gotten swept at home by the Dodgers, placed the struggling Edwin Diaz on the IL and designated disgruntled right-hander Jorge Lopez for assignment.
They were also 11 games under .500, six games out of the final wild-card spot in the National League — with seven teams ahead of them — and looked like a team headed nowhere.
“We stink right now,’’ Adam Ottavino said after the final loss to Los Angeles.
But then the veteran right-hander added: “It doesn’t mean we’re gonna stink going forward.”
The Mets did stink going forward, but not for long.
Two wins over the Diamondbacks were followed by a pair of ugly defeats to Arizona, with a trip to Washington and then London to face the first-place Phillies on the horizon.
So what’s happened in the last month that’s gotten the Mets back to .500, just 1 ½ games behind the Padres and Cardinals for a wild-card spot heading into Thursday night and fresh off a convincing sweep of the Subway Series at Citi Field?
“It’s a credit to that group in there,” Carlos Mendoza said of his club Wednesday night. “They’re good players, good coaches and they’re having fun.”
And much of what’s altered the direction of the season began in May.
As bad as the month was for the Mets — and at 9-19, it was brutal — there were some bright spots. It wasn’t simply a team meeting on one day or a return from the IL for a key player or another that’s sparked the turnaround.
Instead, it’s clear the Mets’ incredible about-face has been due to a combination of factors.
Here’s a look at a few:
Francisco Lindor, who was one of many Mets having an awful season through most of May, called a team meeting following the final loss to the Dodgers.
Since then, he’s taken off.
After compiling a .652 OPS through his first 55 games, the shortstop has a .997 OPS in his last 23 games.
His success, though, goes back even further, likely tied to being moved from the No. 3 hole in the lineup to the leadoff spot May 18, as Lindor has a .906 OPS at the top of the order.
Another important change was the decision to replace Brett Baty with Mark Vientos at third base.
Since being recalled for good from Triple-A Syracuse on May 15, Vientos has a .907 OPS. Baty’s was just .633 when he was sent down.
Then there’s the outfield, with Brandon Nimmo and Harrison Bader.
Bader, unhappy about his playing time and not hitting well enough to justify an everyday spot in the lineup in mid-May, came alive.
In his last 34 games starting May 16, Bader has an .875 OPS. It was .628 before that.
Nimmo waited until June, but has five homers in his last 11 games.
Around the same time as the third base switch, J.D. Martinez began to hit like J.D. Martinez after a slow start following his signing late in spring training.
In his first 15 games as a Met, Martinez didn’t look anything like the longtime threat he’d been throughout his career, with just a .675 OPS.
But in his last 37 games, dating to May 13, his OPS is .920, ninth-best in the majors in that span.
Not coincidentally, the Mets have scored the second-most runs in the majors since that date, behind only the Orioles. Prior to that date, they were 18th.
Not to be forgotten is Pete Alonso, who has hit better over the last month, as well, and the arrival of Jose Iglesias on May 31 has helped make up for Jeff McNeil’s continued slump. Iglesias has a .905 OPS after being brought up from Triple-A.
Perhaps the most important addition in the first half, though, was the return of Francisco Alvarez behind the plate.
The 22-year-old got off to a rough start, with just a .652 OPS in 16 games before he went down with a torn ligament in his left thumb that required surgery.
He used that time off to observe and, he believes, slow the game down.
Even playing with a splint on his thumb since coming back, Alvarez has been on fire, with a 1.232 OPS in 14 games since June 11.
And his backup, Luis Torrens, has been excellent, giving the Mets a sizable upgrade at the position over Omar Narvaez and Tomas Nido, who were there much of the season.
The offensive resurgence, on full display against the Yankees, has given new life to the Mets season.
According to tankathon.com, the Mets have the third-easiest schedule the rest of the way, with their opponents having a combined .488 winning percentage.
Their improved play, combined with the sorry state of the National League, gives the Mets a 41.8 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to tankathon.com.
“We’ve still got a long way to go,’’ Mendoza said.
