With the New York Mets down one run and one out in the ninth inning, NL MVP candidate Francisco Lindor hit probably the most important home run of his life to this point. He took Pierce Johnson deep for a two-run shot that turned a 6-7 deficit into an 8-7 lead, gifting the Mets the win against the Atlanta Braves and their ticket to the postseason as one of the Wild Card teams.
It was just the first game of the doubleheader on Monday, but one win was enough for the Mets to secure their ticket to the promised land. Now, the Braves will play for survival in the second game: if they win, they are in. If they lose, the Arizona Diamondbacks will be the ones playing the Wild Card round.
The Braves were actually in control for the early portion of the game, jumping to a 3-0 lead against Mets starter Tylor Megill after six frames. Megill fell one out short of a quality start, though.
The Mets overcame a fantastic start by Spencer Schwellenbach
Atlanta’s starter Spencer Schwellenbach was outstanding all game, tossing 7+ innings of just one run, which scored after he left in the eighth frame. That’s when the Mets’ first rally started, first against Joe Jimenez, and then against star closer Raisel Iglesias: they scored a whopping six runs in that eighth inning, with Brandon Nimmo’s two-run home run being the exclamation point.
The Braves, however, wouldn’t go down without a fight and actually flipped the scoreboard thanks to a bases-clearing double by Ozzie Albies against Mets closer Edwin Diaz.
Diaz, however, would be given a chance to redeem himself in the bottom of the ninth. Prior to that, in the top of the inning, Lindor went deep to give the Mets the lead. Diaz survived a single to retire the ninth and punch the Mets’ ticket to October baseball.
There is another game on Monday between the Mets and Braves, but it doesn’t matter anymore for New York: they are officially in the 2024 MLB postseason.
