The Athletic MLB Staff
Full MLB playoff bracket set as Mets, Braves get in
It took an extra day and a memorable doubleheader between the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets, but the complete MLB playoff bracket is officially finalized.
AL Wild Card Series (No. 1 Yankees and No. 2 Guardians have byes)
No. 6 Tigers at No. 3 Astros
No. 5 Royals at No. 4 Orioles
NL Wild Card Series (No. 1 Dodgers and No. 2 Phillies have byes)
No. 6 Mets vs. No. 3 Brewers
No. 5 Braves vs. No. 4 Padres
AL Division Series
Orioles or Royals vs. No. 1 Yankees
Astros or Tigers vs. No. 2 Guardians
NL Division Series
Padres or Braves vs. No. 1 Dodgers
Brewers or Mets vs. No. 2 Phillies
Braves beat Mets in doubleheader nightcap to clinch 7th straight postseason berth
In the end, none of that chaos prevented the Atlanta Braves from punching their postseason ticket for the seventh consecutive season.
The Braves clinched a playoff spot Monday with a 3-0 win over the New York Mets in the second game of their doubleheader in Atlanta. It took until game No. 162, but they will face the Padres in San Diego in the Wild Card Series, which begins Tuesday. The outcome leaves the Arizona Diamondbacks, who watched the proceedings from Chase Field in Phoenix, out of the postseason.
For the Braves, victory came after enduring two more bloody blows. First, they were forced to get up off the canvas after a stunning 8-7 loss in Game 1, in which they blew leads of 3-0 and 7-6 in the final two innings. Then, after holding ace Chris Sale in reserve in case of a do-or-die nightcap, he was scratched due to back spasms.
In his place, righty Grant Holmes, who has pitched mostly out of the bullpen, took the mound on 10 minutes notice. Against a Mets team that had already clinched their postseason berth, Holmes threw four shutout innings and the Braves offense mustered enough to cap a long day with a win.
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The Braves make it to October
The Braves have clinched a seventh consecutive postseason berth with a 3-0 win against the New York Mets in Game 162 and the second game of today's doubleheader. After the Mets clinched a wild card berth with a win in Game 1.
What a day.
What a tumultuous season.
But, Braves are in the tournament.
Iglesias pulling double duty as Atlanta needs a win
Braves closer Raisel Iglesias is now out to pitch for the second time today, as Joe Jiménez did in the eighth inning. Iglesias in to start the ninth with 3-0 lead.
It's all hands on deck for Atlanta
Alex Anthopoulos said between games it'd be all hands on deck, and indeed it has been -- Reynaldo López pitched a perfect seventh inning with two strikeouts, on one day of rest since his Saturday start. And Joe Jiménez pitched the eighth after also pitching in Game 1 today.
Braves add to their lead
Marcell Ozuna provided the Braves with some much needed insurance as Atlanta seeks a win in Game 2 of this doubleheader.
Braves lead 1-0 in 5th inning
Pete Alonso's single to start the fifth is the first runner to reach base against Grant Holmes, who then walked Starling Marte before being replaced by Daysbel Hernández, with Atlanta leading 1-0. Holmes did good work on extremely short notice -- Alex Anthopoulos said they didn't tell him until after Game 1 that he was starting in place of Chris Sale. Holmes retired the first 12 batters including seven strikeouts.
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Mets, Braves Game 1 an instant classic
The team’s best player all season, Francisco Lindor, returned from his back issues to once again tote a load on his shoulders. He turned on Pierce Johnson’s first-pitch curveball and lofted it to deep right-center. He knew right away.
GO FURTHERIn an instant classic, Mets clinch playoff berth with win over BravesSale's back spasms aren't an IL situation if Braves advance
ATLANTA – Chris Sale had back spasms and was scratched from Game 2 of Monday’s critical doubleheader against the New York Mets, adding yet another wrinkle to one of the strangest season-ending days imaginable.
Grant Holmes, a 28-year-old rookie who’s pitched in both starting and bullpen roles this season, made the start after being told between games of the change in plans. The Braves were in an all-hands-on-deck situation and ready to use any available arms behind Holmes.
The Braves faced a win-or-go-home situation in the second game, after blowing a 3-0 lead in a rollicking, emotion-shifting 8-7 loss in the opener of the doubleheader at Truist Park. Atlanta said all week that it was saving Sale, the presumptive Cy Young Award winner after his resounding comeback season, for an elimination game, and if it didn’t have to use him he’d start a Wild Card Series opener Tuesday.
Game 2 was an elimination game, but with his back ailing, Braves general manager and president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said they didn’t want to push Sale and risk worsening his condition, even though Sale said he could pitch and had pitched with worse ailments in the past. The announcement was made between games.
Anthopoulos said because it’s spasms, they aren’t ruling out Sale being available to start Tuesday or Wednesday at San Diego if they clinch a wild-card berth. It is not an IL-type injury, he said.
Sale’s velocity was down a couple of miles per hour in his most recent start Sept. 19 at Cincinnati, and Anthopoulos said Monday that Sale’s back bothered him some in the second inning of that Cincinnati game.
This was the first time anyone with the team had mentioned anything about the back issue or said anything physical was wrong with Sale in that last start or since. Anthopoulos and Braves manager Brian Snitker said all week that Sale was ready to pitch and that he would’ve pitched Wednesday against the Mets if that game had not been postponed, along with Thursday’s game, due to torrential rain and the arrival of Hurricane Helene in the Atlanta area.
Sale continued to throw on the side and was prepared to pitch at any point if the Braves faced elimination, Snitker said. But when he ramped up his preparations Sunday ahead of starting Monday or Tuesday, Anthopoulos said Sale’s back situation worsened and he notified Braves officials Sunday night.
They waited until he arrived at Truist Park to make the decision at around noon Monday, Anthopoulos said. Holmes wasn’t notified until 10 minutes after Game 1 that he would be starting Game 2.
Those rain postponements necessitated Monday’s doubleheader, after the Braves, Mets and Diamondbacks were in a three-way tie following Sunday’s games. The Braves and Mets each needed to win one game Sunday to clinch a wild-card spot, while the Diamondbacks, watching from home, could only get in via a doubleheader sweep by either team, since both the Mets and Braves held the head-to-head tiebreaker over Arizona.
Edwin Díaz wasn't done
Jeremy Hefner had told Edwin Díaz he was done after the eighth. When Francisco Lindor gave the Mets the lead again, Díaz went right to Carlos Mendoza.
"I’m going back out. I don’t care what you say, I’m going back out," he said. "I got this shit."
Starkville: Could this end-of-season chaos have been avoided?
Jayson Stark, Ken Rosenthal and Doug Glanville with a postseason preview: Listen here
Chris Sale out for Game 2
Chris Sale has been scratched due to back spasms, Alex Anthopoulos just announced. Grant Holmes will start Game 2.
Sale is not an IL situation, Anthopoulos said.
They’re not ruling our Sale starting tomorrow if they get in Wild Card Series. Since it’s spasms, they’ll see how it feels tomorrow.
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The Athletic MLB Staff
What you need to know about Game 2 of the Braves-Mets doubleheader
The Mets rallied twice in Game 1 on Monday to complete an improbable run, backed by a home run from Francisco Lindor and a gritty finish by closer Edwin Diaz.
Game 2 has less at stake for the Mets. Winning gives them the No. 5 seed (to face the San Diego Padres) instead of the No. 6 seed (to face the Milwaukee Brewers) -- and the bonus of knocking their division rival out of a playoff spot.
The Braves must win to clinch a wild-card spot. They will claim the No. 5 seed if they win Game 2.
The Diamondbacks only make the playoffs if the Mets sweep the doubleheader.
Where to watch: ESPN2, SNY, BSSO
Streaming: Fubo (try for free)
Playoff clinching scenarios:
If the Braves win Game 2: They earn the fifth seed and face the Padres in the playoffs. The Mets would play the Brewers as the sixth seed. The Diamondbacks are eliminated.
If the Mets win Game 2: They earn the fifth seed and face the Padres on Tuesday. The Diamondbacks clinch the sixth seed and play the Brewers.
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How improbable was that win?
The Braves had a 93.5% win probability when the top of the 8th began.
The Mets had a 92.1% win probability when the bottom of the 8th began.
The Braves had a 91.3% win probability when the top of the 9th began ... and lost.
So is the word for that game “improbable?”
Edwin Díaz remained confident
Going forward, it may turn out to be huge to see how much Edwin Díaz remained confident, wanted to stay in the game. Good move to stick with him from Carlos Mendoza, who often pushed the right buttons in his first season.
Díaz heads into playoffs having thrown 66 pitches last two days.
Chris Sale will start Game 2 for Braves
Braves have Chris Sale going in Game as they have one more chance to clinch a spot. Must win to make the postseason.
Weird & Wild update
The Mets now have won 11 games when trailing after 7.
They’ve won 8 games when trailing after 8.
They’ve had 41 wins in games where they trailed at some point.
They’ve had quite a season.
Meanwhile, Edwin Diaz has thrown 66 pitches in the last 24 hours.
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Mets clinch postseason berth
Francisco Lindor’s tranquility belied the magnitude of the moment. As the Mets’ MVP calmly trotted around the bases, Starling Marte raised his arms triumphantly. The dugout could barely contain his teammates.
Lindor’s two-run homer off Pierce Johnson capped a frenzied back-and-forth in the final two innings, propelling the Mets to an 8-7 win that clinched the 11th playoff berth in franchise history.
Edwin Díaz rebounded from blowing the save in the eighth inning to retire Atlanta in the ninth, stranding the tying run in scoring position.
Lindor’s home run was the final twist in a dizzying final two frames. Entering the eighth, the Mets trailed 3-0, their bats again dismissed by rookie Spencer Schwellenbach. When the right-hander took the mound for that frame, he’d thrown 21 innings this season against the Mets and allowed one run on eight hits. Even when he departed after Tyrone Taylor’s leadoff double, the Truist Park crowd gave him a raucous standing ovation; there was little reason to fret.
But Taylor’s two-bagger sparked that slumbering New York offense. Francisco Alvarez followed with his own double to get the Mets on the board, and consecutive singles from pinch-hitter Marte and Lindor plated another run while putting the tying and go-ahead runs on base. Sparkplug José Iglesias delivered a two-strike single to right to tie the game, and Mark Vientos’ sacrifice fly chased Lindor home from third with the go-ahead run. Brandon Nimmo capped that rally with a mammoth two-run homer to right, and the veteran outfielder enjoyed every moment of it.
But the Mets could not exorcise their demons in Atlanta quite that easily. They couldn’t hold on to their own three-run lead in the bottom of the inning, with Atlanta putting two on against Phil Maton to summon Díaz from the pen. The closer had thrown 26 pitches yesterday.
He appeared to get out of the inning when Pete Alonso made as good a diving stop as he’d made all season, snagging Jarred Kelenic’s sharp ground ball down the right-field line. There was only one problem: Díaz was still standing on the pitcher’s mound.
Díaz forgot to cover first base, allowing Kelenic to reach, a run to score and Atlanta to extend the inning. It took full advantage. After Michael Harris II walked to load the bases, Ozzie Albies uncorked a bases-clearing double on a 3-1 Díaz fastball to send Truist Park into a state of bedlam.
With Ryne Stanek warming behind him, Díaz returned for the ninth, working around a one-out single and stolen base to finish the deal.
Mets win Game 1
The New York Mets' 2024 was always going to be described as wild. Now, we can add: Successful.
Before the season, David Stearns made it clear the goal was to make the playoffs. They do just that behind Francisco Lindor, who authored one of the franchise's best seasons.
The Athletic MLB Staff
One out away
Travis d'Arnaud is facing Edwin Diaz on the mound. 2 outs. Mets lead 8-7.