The Mets know better than to consider it the “NL Easy,” but their chances of winning a second straight NL East title likely will be predicated upon smacking division foes.

To that end, six games against the Phillies and Marlins beginning Friday at Citi Field could offer the Mets a chance to start building a cushion.

How important are these division games? Last year the Mets went 47-29 against the NL East and 43-43 against all other teams. Included was a 10-game home winning streak in April against the NL East that helped the Mets build equity for stormy days that followed in early summer. Overall, the Mets went 25-13 at home in the division.

“That is what we did such a nice job of last year: We played well at home and we played well in our division, and we’ve got both this weekend,” said David Wright, whose Mets are set to face the Phillies in Friday’s home opener. “You try to find a way to win a series here and there on the road, try to split, but at home take care of business in our division and win series.”

The Phillies are in clear rebuilding mode, but still have remnants — mainly Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz — from the teams that forged a rivalry with the Mets in the past decade.

Last season, the Mets went 14-5 against the Phillies, but maybe most remember the Mets getting swept three games in Philadelphia near the end of the season as they were attempting to clinch home-field advantage for the NL Division Series against the Dodgers.

“If you think about it, the last three games they beat us, so they are a big league team,” Travis d’Arnaud said.

The Marlins have a healthy Giancarlo Stanton in the lineup and Jose Fernandez back from Tommy John surgery, making them more formidable than last season, when the Mets went 11-8 against them.

Even so, there are questions about the Marlins’ rotation depth and bullpen as the franchise looks to rebound under new manager Don Mattingly.

“Yeah, we have got to handle business inside the division, but our division is no slouch,” Lucas Duda said. “We have got tough teams all throughout. We have got to continue to play well and hopefully we can make out the same way we did last year.”

In a sense, the Mets — who split two games in Kansas City to start the season — view Friday as the real start to 2016. The pomp and circumstance of the games at Kauffman Stadium, coupled with three off days in the first week, almost made the Royals games seem like exhibitions.

“We have got to go through the introductions once more, but it’s nice to get into a routine and just play,” Wright said. “With the crazy days off and the intros and the ceremonies, as a player you want to get into a routine, and you can’t do that with this kind of wackiness of a first week.”

Duda said it was “kind of tough” dealing with the Royals’ pregame ceremonies, in which the organization raised a world championship banner one night then followed with the presentation of rings before the second game.

But Wright conceded the Royals, as World Series champions, were allowed to dictate the rules.

Now the Mets want to start pushing around somebody. It starts with their neighbors in the NL East.

“There is no other way to be successful, to win the National League East, to be up there toward the top down the home stretch unless you take care of business in the division at home,” Wright said. “And we certainly need to do that again this year.”