MILWAUKEE — Throughout the weekend, rolled-up sheets of plastic hung from the ceiling of the visitor’s clubhouse at American Family Field in preparation for a celebration. They never came down. The New York Mets couldn’t be eliminated on Sunday, but they also failed to clinch a wild-card spot.
So after beating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-0, they watched the rest of a chaotic National League playoff scenario taking shape. By the evening, the Mets were bound for Atlanta, where they’ll make up for a Sept. 25 postponement by playing a regular-season doubleheader Monday with their season on the line.
If the Mets and Braves split the two games, they are both in the playoffs.
If either team gets swept, that team is out and the Arizona Diamondbacks are in.
“It should be fun,” Francisco Lindor said. “It’s gonna be an uphill fight just like it has been the whole year. You just have to go out there and play the game the right way, and hopefully we come out on top.”
In Game 1 on Monday, both teams are going with their second-best options. Instead of going with Chris Sale, the frontrunner for the NL Cy Young Award, the Braves announced they’ll pitch impressive rookie Spencer Schwellenbach. Rather than Luis Severino, one of their top starters, the Mets plan on starting Tylor Megill, club sources said. Megill has had an uneven season but has pitched well in September (1.80 ERA in 20 innings).
There’s sound logic behind the choices. The Game 1 winner can use someone of little importance to start the second game and then have their best option ready to go for the playoffs. They can also rest their regulars, making it easier, in theory, for the Game 1 loser to take the second game.
Not that anything is a given. The Mets’ season to date has proved as much.
“This is what we want. We want to be able to control our destiny,” Mets starter David Peterson said after throwing seven scoreless innings Sunday. “Looking forward to getting to Atlanta and doing our thing.”
When presented with the situation, given the context of the Mets’ season of ups and downs, manager Carlos Mendoza flashed a smile before saying, “I’d sign up for that any day.”
Mendoza’s players shared the sentiment. The mood after Sunday’s victory wasn’t celebratory. But the Mets seemed to embrace the idea of still having a shot.
Make no mistake, though: Traveling to Atlanta from Milwaukee for one day and then having to travel to either Milwaukee (5:32 p.m. ET) or San Diego (8:38 p.m. ET) for a playoff game on Tuesday is hardly ideal.
“It’s tough. I wish MLB would push the playoffs back a little bit,” J.D. Martinez said. “I think it’s an unfair advantage for the teams we’re going to play. Us and Atlanta. Just because we know what’s on the line. And you’re going to scratch to win those games. You have to. That’s the only way in. So it’s going to be a tough task. We just gotta suck it up. We gotta find a way to get through it.”
After all, in ways good and bad, the Mets put themselves in this position. They snapped a three-game losing streak Sunday by doing things differently than they had the days before. They received great pitching from Peterson and showed off a dynamic offense with stolen bases, advancing runners and cashing in during key spots.
Amid it all was Lindor, who has been battling a bad back. He went 2-for-4 with a home run and stolen base. After scoring the game’s first run, he crawled around home plate before getting up. He felt the pain. But it went away. Manageable. He can deal with that, Lindor said. When asked if he could play 18 innings Monday, Lindor said that he’d love to before adding he needs to take it all one thing at a time.
The Mets also expect closer Edwin Díaz to be completely available Monday, though he threw an inning Sunday. It was his first action in a week. Afterward, he said he could throw in both games if needed.
“We didn’t get much length out of our starters the past days, and the way we’ve been using our bullpen, Díaz needed to pitch today, and especially in a winning game,” Mendoza said. “He will be OK for tomorrow.”
A looseness returning to the Mets clubhouse Sunday offers promise, too. Martinez, among others, sensed a tightness, a growing pressure, around the team since a few days ago in Atlanta. That vibe followed them to Milwaukee, where they dropped the first two games, looking tight.
Martinez and Lindor said the group talked about letting go of some pressure. Lindor mentioned something president of baseball operations David Stearns said in a recent meeting: “You don’t have to be someone else.” The loose translation: There’s no need for “hero-ball,” so do your part and trust the next person does theirs. Lindor and others seemed to dig it.
Martinez repeated the mantra he has shared since late May when the Mets held their famous players’ meeting. He has told teammates to avoid putting pressure on the situation because few figured the Mets would be in this position, anyway.
“I feel it’s the third or fourth time I’ve said this,” Martinez said. “This team just plays better that way.”
The challenge is keeping that mindset in Atlanta — and perhaps beyond.
“Everyone knows what’s at stake,” Martinez said. “But I think the best teams know how to control those emotions in those situations. That’s something that I think we’re going to have to do especially if we want to get in and go deep in this thing.”
Because that’s the thing with the Mets. When they were 11 games under .500, no one figured they’d make the playoffs. But things changed. The team got better. There are stakes. As good as the Mets’ story has been — and it’s been a rich tale full of characters and plot twists — they need the ending to include October.
“It’s hard to write something like this,” Peterson said.
The Mets have a next chapter in mind.
(Photo of Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo: John Fisher / Getty Images)
