The Phillies clinched their third consecutive playoff appearance Friday night with a 12-2 victory over the Mets. They can secure their first NL East title since 2011 with one more win over New York this weekend.

When a weird fourth inning devolved into an ugly Mets loss Friday night, 12-2, to the Phillies, David Stearns’ words from hours prior proved prescient. He was speaking about this stage of the baseball calendar — the postseason push — and the run the Mets have been on lately when he acknowledged the reality: Sometimes,

After four games without their biggest offensive driver, the Mets are producing more than enough runs to win in his absence. The bats have absolutely exploded at Citi Field this week, with the Mets having scored 10 runs in three consecutive nights for the first time in franchise history.

The Mets have counted on one quality start after another during this surge into the lead for a wild-card berth, but Friday they received NQ (as in non-quality) and were NC (as in non-competitive). David Peterson’s worst start of the season coupled with underwhelming relief ended the Mets’ winning streak at four games with a 12-2 loss to the Phillies before 41,

What the Mets are doing lately, including in a 10-6 win over the Phillies on Thursday night at Citi Field, looks like a heck of a finishing kick. Mark Vientos, Pete Alonso, Nimmo and Francisco Alvarez hit home runs — all off Taijuan Walker,