The last time the Mets played games that seemed to matter, even a smidge, was in Philadelphia on Father’s Day weekend.

At that point they had shown signs of life, albeit minimal, and were pseudo wild-card contenders. There was some hope on the horizon with Francisco Lindor nearing the conclusion of his minor league rehab assignment.

But the Mets finished that series with two straight losses. When they returned home, the season unraveled — the Cubs swept them four games — leading to manager Carlos Mendoza’s firing.

Three weeks since their last Philly visit, they are returning to begin the post-All Star Game portion of the schedule (it sounds wrong to refer to it as the second half with 97 games completed already) as a team realistically playing out the slate.