NEW YORK -- On Friday afternoon at Citi Field, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza acknowledged the unique situation facing his club. Three rookies -- Jonah Tong , Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean -- were lined up to pitch in this weekend’s pivotal series against the Rangers, with New York’s grasp on the third NL Wild Card spot increasingly tenuous.

“Is it crazy? Probably,” Mendoza said. “If you had asked me a couple months ago if all three of them were going to be here, I’d probably tell you one of them might be here. But here we are.”

The collective failure of the Mets’ rotation warranted the circumstance. But so did the respective development of Tong, Sproat and McLean. It was a two-way street.

“Gotta give them credit,” Mendoza said. “Trusting them, believing in them. Jonah starts today. Ho

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