ATLANTA — There have been stranger clinching scenarios at the ballpark, but not many. In a chaotic, exhilarating, heartbreaking first game of a rain-delayed playoff-qualifying doubleheader, the Mets rode a six-run 8th inning and a comeback 9th to top the Braves, 8-7, and clinch a spot in the 2024 National League playoffs. Atlanta, which carried a 3-0 lead into the 8th, and took a 7-6 lead into the 9th, had only minutes to regroup and prepare for the second half of the doubleheader, which is now an all-or-nothing game for the Braves.
The task for both teams coming into Monday's doubleheader was straightforward, if not simple: Win one of the two games, and advance to the wild card round of the National League playoffs. Win both, and enjoy the extra bonus of knocking your rival out of the postseason. Arizona, meanwhile, could only watch, wait and hope for the sweep.
So Game 1 wasn’t an elimination game. No matter what happened in Game 1, there would be a Game 2 starting 30 minutes after Game 1's final out. That meant there was urgency, but not win-or-go-home urgency. Both teams started slow, as if working their way upward to playoff intensity.
Atlanta sent rookie Spencer Schwellenbach to the mound, and he responded by setting down the first six Mets in order. In the top of the third,New York's Tyrone Taylor beat out a side-spinning slow roller that cut from 20 feet foul back into fair territory:
Taylor stole second and advanced to third on a sacrifice, but would be left stranded there. That would prove costly just two batters later; Atlanta’s Michael Harris II singled up the middle, and Ozzie Albies followed up with a 392-foot home run off Mets starter Tylor Megill to stake the Braves to a 2-0 lead.
The Mets’ first serious threat came in the top of the fifth on back-to-back singles by Pete Alonso and J.D. Martinez. But Schwellenbach managed to shut down the challenge, retiring the next three Mets in order.
Ramon Laureano opened the bottom of the sixth with a home run that just barely cleared the left-centerfield wall, extending Atlanta’s lead to 3-0. A two-out single by Gio Urshela meant the end of the afternoon for Megill. Reliever Huascar Brazobán coaxed a lineout out of Harris and shut down the Braves’ threat, leaving two men on base.
And then the Mets finally woke up. Taylor ended Schwellenbach's day in the top of the 8th, doubling to start the inning. That brought Atlanta manager Brian Snitker to the mound, and Schwellenbach left to a standing ovation from the Atlanta fans. On his second pitch, reliever Joe Jiménez gave up a double to Francisco Alvarez that scored Taylor. Starling Marte followed that with a single to put runners on the corners — and the tying run at first — with no one out. Francisco Lindor followed that with a single that scored Alvarez, cut Atlanta's lead to 3-2, and chased Jiménez without even recording an out.
New Atlanta pitcher Raisel Iglesias didn't fare any better, allowing a single to Jose Iglesias that tied up the game. Mark Vientos flew out to center, scoring Lindor to give New York its first lead of the day at 4-3. Brandon Nimmo then thundered a 405-foot homer to deep right to double up the Braves, 6-3, and effectively silence most of the Truist Park crowd.
The Braves mounted a massive comeback in the bottom of the 8th, putting runners at the corners with one out. Pinch-hitter Jarred Kelenic then beat out a deep shot to first base, cutting the Mets' lead to 6-4. Mets reliever Edwin Díaz loaded the bases, and Albies — who already had that two-run homer in the 3rd — doubled off the top of the left-field wall to clear the bases and give Atlanta the lead once again.
But the Braves fans' delirium was short-lived. Atlanta sent Pierce Johnson to the mound to close out the Mets in the ninth. Starling Marte sliced a two-strike single into left, and then Lindor belted a 413-foot homer to right-center to reclaim the lead at 8-7. Atlanta couldn't respond in the bottom of the ninth.
The victory takes the pressure off the Mets, who have now clinched a playoff spot, and puts a crushing zero-margin burden on the shoulders of the Braves — as well as the Diamondbacks, who must sweat in Arizona and pray for a New York Game 2 victory that would give Arizona the sixth and final playoff berth.
Although the Mets are in the playoffs, New York's exact fate remains uncertain as of the end of Game 1. A victory in Game 2, and they would nab the No. 5 seed and face San Diego; a loss and they'd be the 6 seed and face Milwaukee. Atlanta, meanwhile, must play Game 2 at elimination effort, wondering what could have been.
Now, the 2024 season's final playoff spot comes down to the final game. As it should.