It’s been a chase with their rivals for five years. The Mets have been trying to catch the Phillies since collapsing and losing the NL East to them in 2007. And since, the Phillies have captured five straight division titles while the Mets have become also-rans.
This afternoon, though, the Phillies will visit Citi Field for the first time this year, and things are different.
Almost a third of the season in, the Mets, who moved into second yesterday, are 2 1/2 games ahead of the last-place Phillies. And they have beaten the Phils five of six times they’ve played — all in Philadelphia.
Maybe the Mets, after five years, have finally caught the Phillies. Or passed them.
“[The rest of the season is] an awful lot of baseball,” R.A. Dickey said after shutting out the Padres for 7 1/3 innings in yesterday’s 2-0 win. “We have to continue to remind each other that we have not arrived at anything.”
Fair enough. It’s only 48 games into the season, but Dickey and the streaking Mets have won three straight games and five of six to move six games over .500 (27-21) for the first time in almost two years. They did it this weekend with three victories over the Padres, in which they outscored San Diego 17-1 and held them scoreless for the series’ final 26 innings — on just 10 hits.
The last time the Mets enjoyed a scoreless streak this long, it crested to 35 innings from May 25-28, 2010. So two years later to the day, they’ll try to match that mark against the Phils this afternoon.
“These guys, they expect to win,” Terry Collins said of his crew. “When they take the field, they think they can beat you. And that means a lot.”
Dickey was superb on Banner Day yesterday, with the knuckleballer allowing three hits and striking out 10 in following Johan Santana’s complete-game shutout on Saturday. Dickey now has an MLB-high-tying seven wins, sports a 3.06 ERA, and the Mets have won his last seven starts and nine of his 10 this season.
Dickey’s knuckler was so mind-boggling that in the ninth inning, when Collins went to make a double switch, home plate ump Tim Tschida told him, “I’ve never seen the ball do that kind of stuff.”
Dickey said he threw several knuckleballs higher than normal, causing problems for the Padres. According to catcher Mike Nickeas, Dickey’s knuckler typically jumps around before plummeting. With his higher ones, though, Nickeas said, “It feels like it dives and rises.”
Dickey got several strikeouts yesterday and in his last start versus the Pirates on the elevated knuckler, resulting in a combined 21 K’s the last two turns.
Today, Philly will have Cole Hamels (7-1, 2.17 ERA), one of its three aces, on the hill. Hamels has been with the Phils since the five-year run started, just as David Wright has been with the Mets the whole way.
Wright yesterday dismissed the idea the Mets have caught them, noting how much Philly has handled them over the years. And because the NL East is so formidable, Wright doesn’t think it’s wise to focus solely on the Phillies anyway.
“The measuring stick for us is not the Philadelphia Phillies,” Wright said. “I think we’re a better team this year than we were last year.”
After 48 games last year, the Mets were 23-25. They’re four games above that pace this season. Said Dickey, “We’ve always believed in ourselves.”
mark.hale@nypost.com