The Mets broke two bad streaks in what was supposed to be the final game of the year. They finally scored more than two runs on a Sunday and they earned their first win this year over the Brewers, as they emerged with a 5-0 victory for their 88th win of the season. Unfortunately, the Diamondbacks also won, which means the Mets have to win one game on Monday to make the playoffs.
While the five runs on a Sunday was noteworthy, the story of the day was David Peterson, who threw seven shutout innings and allowed just one hit, an infield single. Peterson struck out eight while registering his 10th win of the season. He also lowered his ERA to 2.90 for the year. It was a big-game performance and Ron Darling gave him tons of kudos throughout the game.
The Mets banged out 12 hits in the game, with Francisco Lindor, Jose Iglesias, Mark Vientos, J.D. Martinez and Francisco Alvarez each delivering two knocks. Alvarez and Lindor each had two RBIs, with Lindor cracking his 32nd HR of the season.
Brandon Nimmo gave the Mets an early lead with an RBI single in the first. It was nice to see guys who’ve struggled in September – Nimmo and Martinez, specifically – contributing to the win.
The D’Backs finish the year at 89-73. Both the Mets and Braves are 88-72. Both the Braves and Mets hold the tiebreaker against the D’Backs, so Arizona needs either the Mets or Braves to sweep on Monday. If the two NL East teams split the doubleheader, the Braves will take the second Wild Card and face the Padres, with the Mets returning to Milwaukee to face the Brewers.
If the Mets sweep, they take the second Wild Card and will travel to San Diego to take on the Padres.
“Remain in Milwaukee”? Go back to Milwaukee. After seeing the Brewers, I’d rather have the Padres. By the way, watching the end of the Royals-Braves game, Atlanta bullpen struck out 12 of the final 13 KC batters. Wow.
Onto the Boys from Flushing. It’s a win, so we take it. Marte practiced bunting today; he’s getting better. Inglesias can use a hit when the guy wearing his uniform is either standing directly in front of him or over to his right (and isn’t a coach); let’s not lose that very valuable skill. Martinez had a hit, but more than one chatter noticed how slow his bat looks against fastballs. Alonso… we are still waiting, waiting and anticipating. But, great job from Peterson who took the mound pissed off and it showed. Plus, it helped that the Brewers were awfully friendly and hospitable today, so that worked out well. It also helped that TDA took a 2-0 hanging change up as the tying run in the ninth inning that had the Royals announcers aghast at the location of the pitch and type of pitch. Lastly, Sale has a 2.38 ERA and Skubal a 2.39 ERA. I would think that the Braves would hold onto him and start someone else in case they win the first game and save Sale for Tuesday, and take the ERA title.
A playoff spot is the cherry on top of a very enjoyable season. Enjoy!
What a great scenario. A lot of thinking will go into the starting pitching decisions by both clubs. It’s a bit of a Prisoner’s Dilemma. I can’t think of a similar playoff situation, across any major sport. Many were just hoping for meaningful games in September, so as Woodrow says, making it to the playoffs is gravy. But how sweet would it be to eliminate the Braves!