All summer, one important series was highlighted on the calendar.
It’s three games between the Mets and Braves in Atlanta during the last week of the season. With these NL East rivals in a close wild-card race, it seemed likely that their matchup would determine who gets in. And now it’s here.
“We knew it a couple of weeks ago: That series was probably going to help decide this thing. We know what we’re up against and we know what we have to do,” said Atlanta catcher Sean Murphy. “It just comes down to us. If we win, we’re in.”
For the injured Braves to secure their seventh straight playoff spot, they’ll need a strong showing at home.
If the surprising Mets want to keep their postseason hopes alive, they can do so by defeating a familiar opponent.
At Truist Park, legacies and a chance to play in October are at stake.
“I’m stoked for the opportunity,” said New York slugger Pete Alonso, who is set to become a free agent after the World Series.
With six regular-season games left, both teams rested on Monday before their series opener on Tuesday night. New York (87-69) is half a game ahead of Arizona (87-70) for the second of three National League wild cards, while the Braves (85-71) are 1.5 games behind the Diamondbacks for the last playoff spot.
The Mets and Braves have split their ten meetings this year, so the winner of this three-game series will hold the tiebreaker if both teams end with the same record.
New York knows that two wins in Atlanta would secure a playoff spot. However, if the Braves sweep the series, they would take the lead going into the final weekend.
This situation is similar to two years ago when the Mets came to Atlanta for the second-to-last series of the season, leading the NL East by one game.
Atlanta swept that three-game series, which helped them secure a tiebreaker that decided the division title days later when both teams ended up at 101-61, resulting in early playoff exits for both.
It was the fifth of six straight NL East titles for the Braves, but that streak ended last Friday when they were knocked out of the division race, which Philadelphia won on Monday night.
However, the Braves can still determine their wild-card fate, despite facing many injuries to All-Star players throughout the year.
“I already feel like I’m playing postseason games,” said closer Raisel Iglesias. “We just need to remain patient and play our game.” Both teams made changes to their pitching rotations for this series.
New York right-hander Luis Severino (11-6, 3.79 ERA) will start the first game against rookie Spencer Schwellenbach (7-7, 3.61), who had a strong performance against the Mets in a 4-0 win on July 27.
Atlanta’s ace Chris Sale (18-3, 2.38), a top contender for the NL Cy Young Award, will pitch in the second game against lefty David Peterson (9-3, 3.08). Then, Sean Manaea (12-5, 3.29) will face Braves veteran Max Fried (10-10, 3.42), which will be another matchup between left-handed pitchers.
In a surprising decision, the Mets chose to skip veteran lefty Jose Quintana (10-9, 3.74) in favor of Severino and Peterson. Quintana has given up just one earned run in his last five games, winning the last four.
Adding to the tension is the uncertain status of Francisco Lindor. He is in the running for the NL MVP but has only played one inning in the last nine games due to back pain.
The Mets just had a successful 6-1 homestand without Lindor, thanks in part to the contributions from 22-year-old Luisangel Acuña, who is the younger brother of Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr., the reigning NL MVP.
Luisangel Acuña was called up from the minors on September 14 and is hitting .379 with three home runs, six RBIs, six runs, six extra-base hits, and a 1.228 OPS in his first nine major league games.
Ronald Acuña Jr. won’t be playing in the series after suffering a season-ending knee injury in May. However, he sent Luisangel a congratulatory text last week, saying he looks forward to swapping jerseys in Atlanta.
“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting to be here a couple weeks ago,” Luisangel Acuña said through a translator. “He’s excited for me to get there, but at the end of the day we want to win.”
The rivalry between these teams has a long history, with Hall of Famers like Mike Piazza, Chipper Jones, and Bobby Cox involved in some memorable moments.
However, the rivalry has mostly favored the Braves.
New York tried to compete with the Braves in the NL East several times during their record streak of 14 straight division titles from 1991 to 2005, but they never succeeded.
Piazza and the Mets pushed the 1999 NLCS back to Atlanta thanks to Robin Ventura’s grand slam-single at Shea Stadium, but then watched Kenny Rogers walk in the series-winning run in Game 6.
For a team looking for its first World Series title since 1986, finally beating the Braves when it counts would give hopeful Mets fans a sign of future success under new president of baseball operations David Stearns and impressive rookie manager Carlos Mendoza.
Could they end up disappointing again? Perhaps the same old Mets — fair or not.
After this series, Atlanta will finish the season with three games at home against Kansas City, which is also in a tight race for an American League wild card.
Edwin Díaz and the revived Mets will visit NL Central champion Milwaukee, which might be set for the No. 3 playoff seed by that time.
Since falling 11 games under .500 on May 29, New York has the best record in baseball at 65-36.
“Our goal is to get back here and be playing playoff baseball in October. There’s a lot of hoops to get through in order to do that,” said outfielder Brandon Nimmo.
“We have to take care of business and be present in the situation; otherwise it will not happen. But that is the goal — to bring October baseball, playoff baseball, back here to New York.”
