The Mets are in the playoffs, but it didn’t happen without the anxiety that they usually put their fans through.
In a game that was a microcosm of their season and will go down as one of the greatest regular season games in their history, Francisco Lindor’s two run home run in the top of the ninth gave the Mets a thrilling 8-7 win over the Braves in the first game of a doubleheader that clinched an NL Wild Card spot.
The Braves won the second game, 3-0, so they are headed to San Diego while the Mets will head back to Milwaukee for the Wild Card round.
The Mets offense was dormant for seven innings but they put up an improbable six spot in the eighth inning to take a 6-3 lead. However, the Braves answered with four runs in their half to take a 7-6 lead into the ninth of this game that had a number of emotional swings.
“That’s one of the craziest games I’ve ever been a part of,” Manager Carlos Mendoza told a group of reporters in a raucous Mets clubhouse. “The meaning of it. Coming back in the eighth and then losing the lead and then coming back again in the ninth. It was unbelievable, it’s like you could write a book and here we are. We just have to embrace it and keep going.”
In the eighth, the Braves used their closer Raisel Iglesias to try to stop the bleeding and preserve the lead. After Brandon Nimmo hit a two-run home run off of Iglesias to put the Mets up by three, Manager Brian Snitker removed Iglesias to have him ready for the second game, but it proved to be a pivotal moment because he wasn’t available to pitch the ninth.
Atlanta went to right hander Pierce Johnson to try and nail down the win in the ninth, but Starling Marte singled with one out to bring Lindor to the plate as the go ahead run.
The Mets shortstop, who has inspired his team by returning to the field despite his back issue, took a first pitch curveball from Johnson and drove it over the center field wall to regain the lead.
“Got the pitch that I wanted and you never know if the ball is going to go out or not, but I feel like I got it 100 percent,” Lindor said while meeting the media in-between games of the twin bill.
Edwin Diaz, who struggled in the eighth, was sent back out for the ninth and was a much different pitcher than the previous inning.
“They battled [the Braves], they battled,” Diaz said. “They came back and after I saw the homer off Lindor, I told Mendy [Mendoza] I’m going back out, no matter what. I don’t care what you say, I’m going back out, I want to get that big win for the team.”
Mendoza was asked his reaction when Diaz said he was going back out for the ninth. “You’re going back in,” the Mets Manager said. “As soon as Lindor hit that ball, I just turned around and gave him a look. We made eye contact, Alvy [Alvarez] was right there. I told them two down in the tunnel, I made that decision.”
So what did he say to his battery in the tunnel?
“I just wanted to make sure that physically he [Diaz] was good, mentally. I just wanted to see his reaction, I wanted to get with Alvy as well as the catcher and I went with it,” the first year Manager said.
Diaz got a huge first out when he retired Met killer Matt Olson on a pop out to Lindor.
Eli White, was came into the game as a defensive replacement, singled and that brought Mendoza to the mound. The Mets Manager looked Diaz in the eye and reminded him about the runner on first and kept his closer in the game.
White stole second so the Braves had the tying run on second with one out, but Diaz struck out Ramon Laureano and then faced former Met Travis d’Arnaud, who has made a career out of having success against his former team.
On a 2-2 pitch, Diaz threw a 97 MPH four seam fastball and d’Arnaud fittingly hit a ground ball to shortstop. When Lindor threw him out at first, the Mets were headed to the playoffs.
“Last year, I lose all season so it was tough for me. Being able to battle back and get the last out for our team to make the playoffs was big.” Diaz said.
Braves starter Spencer Schwellenbach was his usual strong self, keeping the Mets off the board for seven innings, but the rookie right hander had not thrown a pitch in the eighth inning all season long.
Schwellenbach was rolling so Snitker elected to start him in the eighth, but lead off batter Tyrone Taylor made him work. On the 11th pitch of the at bat, Taylor lined a double towards the gap in left center field to end Schwellenbach’s day.
Snitker went to Joe Jimenez who did not have it. Francisco Alvarez greeted Jimenez with an RBI double to plate the Mets first run. Marte pinch hit for Harrison Bader and singled to put runners on the corners and then Lindor stroked a line single up the middle to score Alvarez and make it a one run deficit, so Snitker went to Iglesias.
The Braves closer who had been nearly unhittable for most of the season, gave up the Mets fifth straight hit, an RBI single to right by Jose Iglesias on an 0-2 pitch that tied the game at three and sent Lindor to third.
Mark Vientos’ sacrifice fly scored Lindor to give the Mets a 4-3 lead and then Nimmo’s two run home run made it 6-3 and knocked Iglesias out of the game.
Phil Maton, who was pitching for a third straight day, was brought on to pitch the eighth, but he hit White with a pitch. After Laureano flied to right, d’Arnaud singled to put runners on the corners with one out.
Mendoza went to Diaz for the five out save and got former Yankee Gio Urshela on a comebacker for the second out as d’Arnaud took second.
In an ironic twist, Jarred Kelenic, who was traded for Diaz, was sent up as a pinch hitter and he hit a hard smash down the first base line where it was fielded by Pete Alonso, but the Mets closer had a brain cramp and failed to cover first as White scored.
Diaz and the Mets should’ve been out of the inning but he collapsed after that. “I just thought it was a foul ball so I stayed on the mound,” Diaz said. “They got the momentum, I apologized to the guys.”
Whit Merrifield ran for Kelenic and stole second and then Michael Harris walked on four pitches to load the bases for Ozzie Albies who lined a 3-1 pitch off the wall in left field that caromed past Nimmo and cleared the bases as the Braves took a 7-6 lead that demoralized the Mets before their resilient nature served them well in the ninth.
The Mets were 11 games under .500 on May 29th, but they rallied to go 67-40 to qualify as a Wild Card entrant.
“It’s been an uphill fight, we put ourselves in a big hole and we kept climbing, we kept climbing, we kept climbing, we kept climbing,”Lindor said. “We kept our shoulders above water after the All Star break. We would never have believed that we were drowning and we count on each other, we believe in each other.”
So the Mets have earned the right to play the best two-of-three Wild Card round beginning Tuesday in Milwaukee with a sense of satisfaction of having gotten to a place that many thought they would never see this season.
“It’s one step closer to where we want to be, so yes, there is some sense of accomplishment,” Lindor said. “We accomplished something, being in the post season, it’s not something to not take light. It’s extremely hard to be in the post season.”
It is said that a team is a reflection of their manager and Mendoza pushed all the right buttons this season.
“I had good players. I knew I had great people and they went out and did it,” he said. “Never panicked because I knew what I had and they kept working and they kept believing and here we are. I’m just proud of the whole group, the whole organization and like I said, first step, everybody had us out even before the year started and here we are. This is special.”
The Mets resiliency that they’ve shown all season is something to be admired and something that may help them deal with the challenge of jumping right into the playoffs.