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The feeling of October playoff baseball started one day early.
The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves had a thrilling first game of their doubleheader to determine who will be a Wild Card team in the National League.
After a late-inning back-and-forth on the scoreboard, it’s the Mets who have punched their ticket to the postseason with an 8-7 victory.
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New York Mets’ Francisco Lindor prepares to swing in the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)
Now, before recapping this wild ending, the Braves still have a chance to get into the playoffs themselves as the final wild card team if they win the second game of this doubleheader.
However, if the Mets win, the Arizona Diamondbacks will take that final spot. They’re certainly rooting for New York, as they knew heading into Monday they needed a sweep from one of the NL East rivals.
Like many games before in this bitter rivalry, theatrics played out late in the game when it appeared all hope was lost for the Mets. But like any other playoff game, it’s never truly over until that 27th out is made.
METS-BRAVES DOUBLEHEADER TO DETERMINE FINAL NL WILD CARD TEAMS IN DRAMATIC FASHION
New York had trouble against Braves rookie starter Spencer Schwellenbach all game long, and after Tylor Megill let up a two-run homer to Ozzie Albies in the bottom of the third inning and a solo shot to Ramon Laureano in the sixth, Atlanta held a 3-0 lead heading into the top of the eighth.
Braves manager Brian Snitker let Schwellenbach go out for the eighth inning, something he hadn’t done all year for his squad, and it began a Mets rally that sent this game into a frenzy.
Tyrone Taylor doubled to center field to lead off the inning, and the Mets finally got on the board when Francisco Alvarez laced a double of his own down the left field line.
Then, with Starling Marte pinch-hitting for Harrison Bader, he moved Alvarez over to third base with a single to put runners at the corners with no outs. That’s when Lindor, prior to hitting his game-winner in the top of the ninth inning, smacked a single off reliever Raisel Iglesias, to close the gap at 3-2.
New York had the chance now to tie the game when Jose Iglesias came to the dish, and he slapped a ball down the right field line to plate Marte and move Lindor to third base with no one out. Mark Vientos, then, would hit a sacrifice fly to center field, and Michael Harris’s throw was way off line as Lindor scored to take the lead.
Atlanta Braves’ Ozzie Albies prepares to tag third base after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)
But the Mets didn’t end things there. Brandon Nimmo parked a fastball deep into the right field seats to make it a 6-3 ballgame, as the home Braves crowd was completely dejected.
However, that didn’t last long after Atlanta finally got out of the inning.
The Mets sent Phil Maton to the mound in the bottom of the eighth, and it did not go the way the visitor’s dugout wanted it to. Maton hit the first batter he faced, though it appeared Eli White’s bat crossed home plate as the ball hit him, which should’ve been called a strike instead.
Either way, he ended up on first base and former Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud hit a single to center, which moved White to third. That forced Mets manager Carlos Mendoza to bring his closer, Edwin Diaz, into the game.
Diaz would get Gio Urshela to ground out, but with two outs and runners on second and third, the crafty right-hander didn’t do the one thing pitchers must when a ground ball goes to first base: cover the bag.
Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies throws out New York Mets’ Jose Iglesias at first base in the sixth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)
Left-handed hitter Jarred Kelenic, a former top prospect for the Mets who was traded to the Seattle Mariners to acquire Diaz years ago, hit a chopper to first base, where Pete Alonso slid to snag it. But Alonso didn’t throw the ball to first base to end the inning because Diaz wasn’t there to cover, as a run scored to make it 6-4.
So, Diaz had to stay out there to pitch, and he walked Harris to load the bases with Albies, already sporting a two-run homer, coming to the plate.
With a 3-1 count, Diaz had to put a fastball right down the middle as to not walk in a run, but Albies made sure everyone went home as he hit a bases-clearing double to retake the lead, 7-6.
The momentum swing was a pendulum, as Mets fans entered the top of the ninth inning not knowing how to feel. But Lindor changed that after Marte got on base, as he waited on a Pierce Johnson curveball at the bottom of the zone and launched it into the right-center field bullpen.
The Mets immediately celebrate in the bottom of the ninth when Diaz, who went back out for the save and win in the box score, saw d’Arnaud ground out to Lindor for the win.
New York Mets’ Francisco Lindor prepares to swing in the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)
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As the Braves fight for their spot in the playoffs in Game 2, and the Diamondbacks hope the Mets pull out the win for their own sakes, New York will know who they play in the Wild Card Series depending on what happens here.
If they win, the Mets will head out west to face the San Diego Padres. If they lose, they will head back to Milwaukee, where they spent this past weekend, to face the Brewers.
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