Before they set off on their West Coast road trip, the New York Mets were 11-26 away from Citi Field. However, thanks to their brilliant young pitching, the Mets won their third and fourth series on the road this season. An eight-inning, 10-strikeout performance by Jacob deGrom today was the exclamation point.

Over their six-game trip, the Mets’ starting pitchers combined for a 1.38 ERA in 39 innings with 36 strikeouts. Even with an offense that averages 3.45 runs per game (good for last in the NL, and second-t0-last in MLB), wins will come easily with consistent pitching performances like these. For the season, the Mets are third in baseball with a 3.29 team ERA, but what they displayed this past week was far more impressive than that.

Just as important as the actual value of the four wins the Mets are returning home with is the emotional and psychological value that comes with them. It’s been a few weeks since the Mets relinquished their lead in the NL East to the Washington Nationals, and since then, they’ve been hovering around 3.5 games back. Today’s win brings them to three back. The Mets have just one more series before the All-Star break and another a few more wins are critical.

With all of the injuries, the Mets could have easily fallen apart (which they almost did), yet they’ve battled so that, through this point in the season, they’re still competitive. A series victory this weekend will have the Mets feeling the best they have since their 11-game win streak early in the season. Upon their return to baseball after their brief rest, the Mets will face two very tough teams in the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals. If they can win both series, and the Washington series, in particular, they may be in, or near, first within one week of the second half.

We know that the pitching is good enough to get them there.  If they keep pitching like they did in Los Angeles and San Francisco (although, admittedly, that’s highly unlikely), the Mets should be in great shape. Nonetheless, the break will be much-needed for a few of the hitters, as they’re still going to need to chip in once in a while. Michael Cuddyer is a bit banged up, and Lucas Duda is amid a terrible slump and some rest could be exactly what he needs. The addition of only one bat could even prove to be the difference-maker for the Mets.

It’s exciting to watch a pitching rotation, night-in and night-out, out-perform the last pitcher to take the mound. The longer they sustain this, the better their chances of making a serious playoff push will be. Hopefully it lasts, but for now, I’m just enjoying what they’re doing.

Matt Turner is a New York Mets Writer for www.RantSports.com. “Like” him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @MTurnerNY, or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.Matt Turner is a New York Mets Writer for www.RantSports.com. “Like” him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @MTurnerNY, or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.