Mets gaining confidence from strong Citi Field showings

Welcome to the new Citi Field, where wild jersey-ripping celebrations, the home team mashing and, most importantly, wins have become the norm.

As the Mets chase down a playoff spot that seemed like a fantasy at the All-Star break, they have made Citi Field their own playground. In a stadium they have struggled to hit and win at in past seasons, they have done nothing but hit and win of late.

“This place is a completely different place when we’re playing well,” Michael Conforto said. “I think we just feed off the energy in this ballpark.”

Before Thursday’s series finale against the Indians, the Mets had won 12 of their last 13 home games. They were 36-21 at Citi Field this season — the sixth-best home winning percentage in the majors and one win shy of their total in all of 2017 or 2018.

The best news? Beginning Thursday, 24 of the Mets’ remaining 36 games in the regular season are at Citi Field — the most of any team in the major leagues.

“I think there’s obviously a confidence here,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “We’ve been playing well at home all year. Lately, the exciting games that we’ve been playing and our ability to come back, I really think it’s due to our fan base. It’s amazing the support we’re getting.”

Their newfound home-field advantage wasn’t always that way, as Citi Field had become a tough place to hit, seemingly more so for the home team. Last year, the Mets scored the fewest runs at home of any team in the majors (averaging 3.38 per game), hit just .215 — the worst home mark since the 1968 Yankees hit .210, The Post’s Joel Sherman noted — and went 37-44. This year, the Mets are averaging 4.93 runs per game at home and hitting .253.

“I never really bought into — the numbers showed that our team hasn’t played well in this stadium, but I don’t know, maybe we just didn’t have the right team playing,” Conforto said. “We’ve got some really good hitters here. Obviously J.D. [Davis] loves hitting here, Jeff [McNeil] loves hitting here, Pete [Alonso] loves hitting here. … We haven’t thought once about this place being a graveyard.”

And the crowd has loved them back.

After Wednesday’s walk-off win, plenty of fans stuck around to listen to Davis’ on-field interview with SNY, which was piped over the speakers. They were treated to Davis grabbing the microphone and yelling, “Hey Mets fans, we did it again! Wooo!” Alonso has also addressed the crowd in similar terms after recent games.

Callaway said he noticed Alonso and Dominic Smith up on the railing during Wednesday’s game, turned toward the crowd and leading a “Let’s Go Mets” chant.

“There’s no doubt that’s kind of the catalyst that’s really helping us out at home, especially when we’re behind and doing some of these fun comebacks that we’ve had,” Callaway said.

During this current homestand and their previous one, Callaway and the Mets have talked about Citi Field feeling like a playoff atmosphere. Conforto has described recent games as being as electric as he has ever seen, this coming from the outfielder who was along for the Mets’ ride to the World Series in 2015.

Of course, it has also helped that the Mets have shored up their bullpen, improved defensively, gotten the starting pitching they were capable of and leaned on timely hitting. But they believe they have had some help, too.

“It’s just the crowd. They’re back into it,” Conforto said. “Once we hit that winning streak after the [All-Star break], it’s just been a different feel at home.”

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