The Mets reached the playoffs, beating the Braves to rebound from a 22-33 start

ATLANTA (AP) — These New York Mets know a thing or two about comebacks.

They saved their best for the last day of the regular season.

They overcame deficits of 3-0 in the eighth inning and 7-6 in the ninth to clinch a playoff berth when Francisco Lindor's two-run homer capped a thriller. 8-7 win Over the Atlanta Braves in the opener of a makeup doubleheader on Monday.

It was only fitting for a team that started 0-5 and barely looked like postseason material while slipping 11 games under .500 in late May.

“Everybody wrote us off, before the year even started, and here we are, man,” rookie manager Carlos Mendoza said.

New York lost the nightcap 3-0, but it didn't matter much. Pete Alonso and the Mets have already locked up the 11th postseason appearance in team history, advancing to a best-of-three NL Wild Card series that begins Tuesday in Milwaukee.

“We're a franchise that hasn't had enough of these moments,” first-year president of baseball operations David Stearns said during a champagne party in the clubhouse after the twin bill. “We have more work to do. I don't think anyone here is satisfied with just one celebration.”

Lindor, who returned Friday from a back injury since Sept. 15, came through with the big hit, starting a drive in the Braves' bullpen off Pierce Johnson.

“It felt slow,” Lindor said. “Emotion. Emotion. I felt like I got the pitch I wanted. And you never know if the ball's going to go out or not but I feel like I got it 100%. We're one step closer. Now we just have to finish it. Finish, The end, the end.”

Asked what he was thinking when he rounded the bases, Lindor said: “My back hurts. I'm tired. I know how good Atlanta is.”

New York had lost 77 consecutive games since May 17, 2023 when trailing by three runs in the eighth inning or later.

“I have never seen a game like this. It was just a total rollercoaster,” said owner Steve Cohen. “I had tears in my eyes when we went ahead and then I was shocked when we fell behind. And then Francisco, just having a big boy moment, rises to the occasion. I mean, he must have had that dream as a kid.

It was a throwback to 1973, when the Mets also clinched a playoff spot the day after the season was supposed to end. Then, they defeated the Chicago Cubs 6–4 to clinch the NL East title.

“These are special moments. You have to enjoy these moments,” said Stearns, who grew up a Mets fan in New York City. “This is the standard where we should be.”

This year, a 10-3 loss to the Dodgers on May 29 completed a three-game sweep at Los Angeles Citi Field with a combined 18-5 record. New York fell to 22-33 in its first season under Mendoza and was six games out of the final wild-card slot, having to beat seven teams.

Lindor called a players-only meeting. As the players explained, the Mets broadcast certain things in the clubhouse that day and committed themselves to positivity, effective preparation and a team-first approach dedicated to helping each other and winning games.

“We just opened the floor and talked about how we could turn it around,” outfielder Brandon Nimmo said then. “Just felt like a boiling-over point.”

Since then, with Lindor leading the charge, they have posted a major-best record of 67-40 and outscored opponents 541-433.

“It's been an uphill battle,” Lindor said. “We put ourselves in a big hole and we kept climbing and climbing. We put our shoulders above the water. After the All-Star break, you know, we never believed we were going to sink.”

One of New York's biggest concerns heading into the wild card series is the availability of star closer Edwin Diaz, who recovered from a blown save to get the win in the doubleheader opener. The right-handed batsman bowled 66 pitches in the last two days.

But the Mets haven't been discouraged all season.

“Nobody outside of this clubhouse in April thought we were going to make the playoffs, that we had a shot,” Nimmo said. “We were able to go out and go through really, really tough times and find ourselves on the other side and pull ourselves up and really rally together and have each other's backs and get it done.”

Baseball's biggest spender since Cohen bought the team before the 2021 season, the Mets won 101 games in 2022 and reached the playoffs only to lose a three-game wild card series to San Diego. The Mets sank to 75-87 last year, when they had a record $319.5 million payroll and a record $100.8 million luxury tax assessment.

They started the year as the top spender again at $321 million, including $70 million in payments to the team covering the salaries of traded players Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and James McCann. Their expected luxury tax was $83 million.

Opener Cohen in the doubleheader after the win Posted in X: “Have you ever seen such a game? I am proud of this team. Meet the fans, go out and celebrate.”

“It was a huge group effort,” Alonso said. “We've earned it.”