Ramos extends hitting streak to 25 games

PHILADELPHIA -- Through the Mets' ups and downs in August, there was one constant: Wilson Ramos just kept hitting. It's now September, and nothing has changed.

Ramos knocked a double down the third-base line in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, extending his hitting streak to 25 games. That's third-longest in Mets history, behind only Moises Alou's 30-game streak in 2007 and David Wright's 26-game streak from 2006-07.

"I don't want to be thinking about [the streak]," said Ramos, who is hitting .438 over the 25-game span. "I just want to go out there thinking about getting a good pitch to hit. ... I don't want to put pressure on myself, I just want to go out there and have fun."

• Longest hitting streaks in MLB history

Ramos' streak is the longest single-season hitting streak in the Majors since Freddie Freeman had a hit in 30 straight from Aug. 24 to Sept. 28, 2016.

"He's been fantastic," manager Mickey Callaway said Saturday. "Feeding off his energy, he's got this great streak going. ... Hopefully he keeps it up."

Since the beginning of August, a month when the Mets had winning streaks of eight and five games before eventually enduring a six-game losing streak, Ramos was seemingly at the center of it all. With that in mind, here's a look at some key moments from New York's roller-coaster month, which prominently featured Ramos and leaves the Mets within striking distance of October baseball in the season's final month:

Aug. 3
Result: Won (7-5 vs. Pirates)
Ramos: 4-for-5, HR, 6 RBIs

New York's victory in the series finale in Pittsburgh proved to be a sign of things to come not only for the Mets but especially for Ramos. The team began the day three games below .500 and five games out of the final Wild Card spot.

With the Mets trailing, 3-2, Ramos crushed a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning followed by a bases-clearing double in the ninth to lead New York to victory. That would be the start of Ramos' streak, as well as the first of eight consecutive victories for the Mets.

Aug. 10
Result: Won (4-3 vs. Nationals)
Ramos: 1-for-4, HR, RBI

Fast forward exactly one week, and the Mets were one of the hottest teams in baseball. Though Ramos had only one hit in the club’s eighth straight victory, it was a big one -- a game-tying 412-foot homer off Nats left-hander Patrick Corbin.

Suddenly, the Mets were five games above .500 for the first time since being 9-4, and more important, just a half-game behind both Washington and Milwaukee for a Wild Card spot.

Aug. 22
Result: Won (2-0 vs. Indians)
Ramos: 1-for-3, 2 RBIs

New York dropped four of its next five following the impressive eight-game run, but quickly rebounded with another five-game winning streak. A team that did not win five in a row at any point in the season's first half now had three winning streaks of at least five games since the All-Star break, including two in August.

Not surprisingly, Ramos provided the only offensive production with a two-run double in the rain-shortened 2-0 victory to keep the streak alive. With their fifth straight win, the Mets pulled back to within 1 1/2 games of that elusive final postseason spot.

Aug. 23-29
Result: Six-game losing streak
Ramos: 11-for-20

Just as they did after reeling off eight straight, however, the Mets took another giant step backward on the heels of their five-game streak. They lost six consecutive games to the Braves and Cubs, dropping five games back of the last Wild Card berth.

But that skid could in no way fall on the shoulders of Ramos, who had multihit games in five of the six losses. The lone exception came on Aug. 25, when he entered the game as a pinch-hitter with the Mets trailing, 2-1, and down to their final out. Even then, he roped a line-drive single to move the potential tying run into scoring position before Joe Panik grounded out.

"This streak is unbelievable," Callaway said. "He’s had three of them where he’s pinch-hit off the bench and kept it alive. That’s insane.”

While Ramos went 11-for-20 during the six-game slide, the rest of the club hit a combined .191.

Aug. 31
Result: Won (6-3 vs. Phillies)
Ramos: 4-for-5, RBI

In a fitting end to the Mets' wild month, Ramos was again at the center of everything. He roped an RBI single in the first, beat out an infield knock to set up Michael Conforto's RBI double in the third and started a three-run rally with a leadoff hit in the fifth. He added a leadoff double in the ninth and came around to score New York's final run.

This, one night after he extended his hitting streak with a pinch-hit game-tying RBI single in New York's series-opening win.

"We're close," Ramos said. "We're close in the race. ... Never give up."