PHILADELPHIA -- For the last several weeks, cynics around the baseball world have greeted every Mets achievement with some version of: ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡±

A nine-game winning streak? ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡±

Passing the Braves in the National League Wild Card standings? ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡±

A massive Francisco Lindor game-tying homer to break up a no-hitter? ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡±

The reason for this was simple. Once the Mets reached their final two and a half weeks of the season, they would face the most difficult schedule in the Majors: seven games against the first-place Phillies, three against the pitching-rich Nationals, three versus the Mets¡¯ longtime antagonists in Atlanta, and three in Milwaukee against the playoff-bound Brewers.

It¡¯s a stretch that finally began on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park, where the Mets continued swatting aside every argument their doubters can conjure. Francisco Alvarez, Brandon Nimmo and Harrison Bader each hit three-run homers in the series opener, while Jose Quintana delivered one of his finest performances of the season in an 11-3 thumping of the first-place Phillies.

That allowed the Mets to retain a one-game lead over the Braves for the third Wild Card spot. The only ¡°Yeah but¡­¡± from this night surfaced in the seventh inning, when Lindor was removed due to lower-back tightness. But the Mets seemed to dodge the worst outcome there as well, given their optimism that Lindor can play as soon as Saturday.

¡°I think if it was a closer game, he was going to fight that one,¡± manager Carlos Mendoza said.

Before that, all the vibes coming from the visiting dugout were good. Although the Phillies tagged Quintana for plenty of hard contact in the early innings, most of it landed in New York gloves.

By the middle innings, Quintana had settled into a groove, and the Mets¡¯ own offense began humming. Nimmo described it as his team¡¯s ability to wear down Nola by working counts and forcing him to throw extra pitches.

With two runners on base in the fifth, Alvarez clanged one of those off the left-field foul pole to open the scoring. Nimmo followed four batters later with his own three-run shot.

¡°I think this series is going to be very similar to playoff baseball, and in playoff baseball, everything¡¯s hanging on the edge of a knife,¡± Nimmo said. ¡°Things can go well or poorly like that really quickly. For us to just keep hammering things out, keep having good at-bats, staying on him, and then finally for that dam to break in the fifth is what you have to do with good pitchers.¡±

Over the next two weeks, the Mets will see almost exclusively good pitchers as they attempt to plow forward toward a playoff spot. Despite holding a one-game lead over the Braves entering this weekend, major projection systems such as FanGraphs gave them only a coin-flip chance to make the playoffs. That was in large part due to their late-September schedule -- a gauntlet of which their players were well aware.

¡°It¡¯s going to be a great test for us,¡± Lindor said before Friday¡¯s win. ¡°If we make it out of this stretch in a good position, the postseason should be fun. ¡­ That¡¯s what we prepare for. That¡¯s what we play for. And we look forward to playing good baseball, good winning baseball.¡±

Lindor went on to say that ¡°this is what I always wanted¡± -- a chance to play his way into the postseason. For months, he has urged his teammates simply to keep their heads above water, to give themselves a chance in September. They¡¯ve done that now. They¡¯ve nearly reached the final fortnight of the season, and they¡¯re still in contention.

¡°We¡¯re playing well,¡± Mendoza said. ¡°We know we¡¯re a good team.¡±

Mendoza added that the Mets will face more adversity in the coming days and weeks. The path to October, he has warned on multiple occasions, won¡¯t be easy.

¡°Yeah, but ¡­¡±

What if at the end of that road, the Mets are still standing?

¡°I¡¯ve always said that the playoffs are about who gets hot at the right time,¡± Nimmo said. ¡°So we¡¯re trying to continue playing good baseball here into the end of September and keep that going into October.¡±