ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves bounced back from a stunning loss in the first game of a makeup doubleheader, claiming the last postseason berth with a 3-0 win over the Mets in the nightcap Monday after New York clinched a playoffs spot with an 8-7 victory in the opener.
With three teams in contention for the last two playoff spots in the National League, the Braves faced the Mets in a twin bill squeezed between the scheduled end to the regular season and the start of the wild-card series.
The defending NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks could only watch from afar and were eliminated as NL East rivals made up a pair of games rained out last week as Hurricane Helene wreaked destruction in the southeastern U.S.
The Diamondbacks needed one team to sweep, so they were pulling for the Mets after they locked up their postseason spot by overcoming deficits of 3-0 in the eighth inning and 7-6 in the ninth to win the opener, going ahead for good on Francisco Lindor‘s two-run homer.
Grant Holmes, stepping in after Braves ace Chris Sale was scratched because of back spasms, pitched four scoreless innings in the second game and Marcell Ozuna gave the Braves some breathing room with a two-run single in the seventh.
Both clubhouses at Truist Park erupted in champagne-spraying celebrations.
With their postseason berth locked up, the Mets added left-hander Joey Lucchesi to the roster to start the second game. The 31-year-old left-hander spent most of the season at Triple-A Syracuse, giving up five runs in 4⅓ innings in his lone big league appearance before Monday.
He was a totally different pitcher against the Braves, who might’ve still been a bit shell-shocked after the way they lost the opener. Lucchesi (0-2) gave up only three hits, including a run-scoring single to Gio Urshela, in a six-inning, 111-pitch outing.
Daysbel Hernandez (3-0) earned the win and Raisel Iglesias earned his 34th save in 37 chances.
The Mets could breathe easy after Lindor’s 33rd homer.
New York erased a 3-0 deficit with a six-run eighth, capped by Brandon Nimmo‘s two-run homer. The Braves surged back ahead with four runs in the bottom half, as Ozzie Albies delivered a bases-loaded double with two outs for a 7-6 lead.
The Mets weren’t finished. Starling Marte singled with one out off Pierce Johnson (7-5) and Lindor delivered a drive into the Braves bullpen in right-center.
“I got the pitch that I wanted and you never know if the ball is gonna go out or not,” Lindor said. “But I feel like I got it 100 percent and all I kept saying was, ‘Thank you Jesus.’ We’re one step closer, we got to finish it. Finish, finish, finish, finish.”
Edwin Díaz (6-4) earned the win with a season-high 40 pitches despite giving up Albies’ go-ahead hit, which came after the Mets’ closer failed to cover first on a play that allowed Jarred Kelenic to reach on a two-out infield hit.
Díaz demanded to return to the mound for the ninth.
“I don’t care what you say, I’m going back out,” he recalled telling manager Carlos Mendoza.
The Braves had the potential tying run at second in the ninth, but Díaz struck out Ramón Laureano and retired Travis d’Arnaud on a grounder to shortstop.
New York had lost 77 straight games when trailing by three runs in eighth inning or later since May 17, 2023. Díaz slammed his glove to the ground and the Mets celebrated briefly behind the mound after earning their 11th postseason berth in 63 seasons, and the first since 2022.
“Have you ever seen a game like that?” Mets owner Steve Cohen posted on X.
Albies, a switch-hitter who can only bat right-handed while dealing with lingering pain from a wrist injury, hit a two-run homer in the third and a bases-clearing double off the base of the wall in the eighth. Laureano also homered for the Braves.
After managing only three singles through the first seven innings against rookie Spencer Schwellenbach, the Mets’ offense came to life in the eighth.
Schwellenbach was lifted after Tyrone Taylor‘s leadoff double. Joe Jiménez didn’t retire anyone, giving up three straight hits that pulled the Mets to 3-2.
Atlanta then turned to Iglesias, but he gave up a tying single to Jose Iglesias, a sacrifice fly to Mark Vientos and Nimmo’s 23rd homer into the right-field seats.
Atlanta had been holding back Sale since his scheduled start last week was rained out, saying they wanted to use him in an elimination game.
But he wasn’t able to pitch because of back spasms, which Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos insisted cropped up only after a throwing session Sunday.
“It’s not an IL thing,” Anthopoulos said. “It’s a day-to-day thing. If we could have him pitch and it was safe to do that, we would. Regardless, we need him with where we want to go.”
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