ATLANTA – There have been stranger clinching scenarios on the baseball field, but not many.

For the Braves and Mets, Monday’s rain-delayed playoff-qualifying doubleheader was clear, 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 added bonus of knocking your rival out of the postseason – and help the Arizona Diamondbacks claim last place.

In a chaotic, exciting, heartbreaking first game of the doubleheader, the Mets rode a six-run eighth inning and a comeback ninth to defeat the Braves 8-7 and clinch a spot in the National League playoffs of 2024. In the relatively quieter Game 2, Atlanta rallied from a crushing Game 1 loss to claim a 3-0 victory and advance to the postseason.

With the win, the Braves claimed the No. 5 seed and next faced San Diego, while the Mets drew Milwaukee. The year of the Diamondbacks is over.

With the regular season finally over, baseball now moves on to the playoffs… which begin just hours after the Atlanta-New York doubleheader ended.

Game 1: Lindor’s heroic top back-and-forth thriller

Francisco Lindor, who was dealing with a back injury, hit the game-winning hit, a two-run homer in the ninth.

Atlanta, which took a 3-0 lead in the eighth and a 7-6 lead in the ninth, had just minutes to regroup and prepare for the second half of the doubleheader, which was a do-or-die there was no contest for the Braves. .

The D-backs, meanwhile, could only watch, wait and hope for the sweep.

Braves took an early lead in a game that had a unique feel

Game 1 was not an elimination game – not for the teams involved, nor for the D-backs standing thousands of miles away. No matter what happened in Game 1, there would be a Game 2 starting 30 minutes after the final out of the opener. That meant there was urgency, but not “win or go home” urgency.

Both teams started slowly, as if working their way up to the intensity of the playoffs. Atlanta sent rookie Spencer Schwellenbach to the mound and he responded by laying out the first six Mets in order.

In the top of the third, New York’s Tyrone Taylor beat a bizarre sideways slow roller that cut back into fair territory from a 20-foot error:

Taylor stole second and moved up to third on a sacrifice, but was stranded there.

In the bottom of the third, Atlanta’s Michael Harris II singled up the middle, and Ozzie Albies followed with a 300-foot home run off Mets starter Tylor Megill to break the scoreless tie and give the Braves a 2–0 lead to put.

The Mets’ first serious threat came in the top of the fifth on back-to-back singles from Pete Alonso and JD Martinez. But Schwellenbach finished off the challenge, eliminating the next three Mets in order.

Ramón Laureano led off the bottom of the sixth with a home run that barely cleared the wall in left-center field, 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 drew a lineout from Harris and ended the Braves’ threat, leaving two men on base.

Epic 8th inning for Mets, Braves

Then the Mets finally woke up. Taylor ended Schwellenbach’s day in the top of the eighth with a double 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, scoring Taylor. Starling Marte followed with a single, putting runners on the corners – and the tying run at first – with no one out. Lindor then singled to score Alvarez, cutting Atlanta’s lead to 3-2 and chasing Jiménez without even recording an out.

New Atlanta pitcher Raisel Iglesias fared no better, allowing a single to Jose Iglesias to tie the game. Mark Vientos flew up the middle and scored Lindor, giving New York its first lead of the day at 4-3. Brandon Nimmo then thundered a 400-foot homer to deep right to double the Braves up 6-3 and effectively silence most of the Truist Park crowd.

The Braves made a huge comeback in the bottom of the eighth, putting runners on the corners with one out. Pinch-hitter Jarred Kelenic then hit a deep grounder 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 home run in the third – hit a double off the top of the left field wall to clear the bases and give Atlanta the lead again.

The Braves fans’ delirium was short-lived. Atlanta sent Pierce Johnson to the mound to close out the Mets in the ninth. Marte sliced ​​a two-strike single to left, then Lindor hit a 400-foot home run to right-center to regain the lead at 8-7. Atlanta couldn’t respond in the bottom of the ninth…and the first playoff berth went to New York.

Game 2: 3 runs are enough for Atlanta

How does a same-day game compare to the Game 1 rollercoaster? Fans and players alike seemed stunned by the events of Game 1. As a result, the atmosphere of Game 2 was more “dog days of August” than “fighting for October.”

Granted, only one of the two teams had anything to play for. The Mets’ win in Game 1 took all the pressure off them and dropped a crushing weight with no margin on the shoulders of the Braves – as well as the Diamondbacks, who had to sweat and pray in Arizona for a Game 2 Mets win.

Braves ace Chris Sale was the expected starter for Game 2, but he was scratched due to back spasms. Instead, rookie Grant Holmes, who had pitched in 25 games and started six prior to Monday, took the mound as Atlanta’s starter in an elimination game. The Mets defeated Joey Lucchesi, who had appeared in one game and had thrown all 4⅓ innings this season prior to Monday.

Lucchesi gave up a run in the second inning, but fought his way out of a two-on-one out jam in the bottom of the fourth. A half-inning later, New York’s Pete Alonso and Starling Marte reached base and chased down Holmes after more than four innings of work.

Atlanta further extended its lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Sean Murphy walked, and a throwing error put Albies on base. Marcell Ozuna singled to left, clearing the bases and extending Atlanta’s lead to 3-0. Then Matt Olson hit a hard liner off the brick wall in right field and was tied up as he slid to second base to end the inning.

Jiménez, whose catastrophic relief in Game 1 opened the door for the Mets’ horses to gallop out, got a measure of redemption in the eighth inning of Game 2, putting the Mets in order.

Atlanta’s Raisel Iglesias had the same opportunity to wipe his record clean in the ninth. New York’s Jose Iglesias reached base on an infield hit. Nimmo, whose home run in Game 1 was a crushing blow, then grounded into a double play. Alonso grounded out and the Braves ended the regular season with a 3-0 victory.