Mets reach playoffs, bounce back from 22-33 start by defeating Braves

Four months after dropping 11 games under .500, New York Mets Made it to the playoffs a day after the regular season ended.

with a win of 8-7 atlanta Trailing in Monday’s makeup doubleheader opener. of francisco lindor Ninth-inning homer, Mets advance in best-of-three NL Wild Card series starting Tuesday milwaukeex Or San DiegoIf New York wins the second game, he will play the Padres. If the Mets lose the nightcap, they will play in Milwaukee.

Mets seal playoff spot thanks to Francisco Lindor’s two-run home run vs. Braves

New York overcame an 0–5 start to advance to the postseason for only the 11th time in 63 seasons. The Mets then came back from down 3-0 in the eighth inning and 7-6 in the ninth inning to defeat him. braves Early Monday. And the biggest blow came to Lindor, who returned Friday from a back injury that had kept him out since Sept. 15.

A 10–3 loss to the Dodgers on May 29 gave Los Angeles a three-game losing streak at Citi Field by a total of 18–5. New York went 22–33 in its first season under manager Carlos Mendoza and were six games out of the final wild-card berth and needed to advance by seven teams.

Lindor called the only meeting of the players. As the players explained, the Mets aired out some of the issues in the clubhouse that day and committed themselves to a team-first approach of positivity, effective preparation and a dedication to helping each other and winning games.

“We just opened up the field and talked about ways we could change it,” the outfielder said. Brandon Nimmo Then said. “Just felt like a boiling point.”

Since then, under Lindor, they have the best record in the majors at 67–39. They have outscored their opponents 541-430.

The Mets, the biggest spender on baseball since Steve Cohen purchased the team before the 2021 season, reached the playoffs in 2022 and lost a three-game wild card series to San Diego. The Mets went 75-87 last year, when they had a record payroll of $319.5 million and were assessed a record $100.8 million luxury tax.

They started the year as the top spender again with an estimated $321 million, which included $70 million in payments to teams covering the salaries of traded players Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and James McCann. His estimated luxury tax was $83 million.

Reporting by the Associated Press.

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