Maybe it was Grimace’s magic touch. Maybe it was their second baseman who released a No. 1 song. Or maybe it was their MVP-caliber leader. Whatever the cause, the Mets clawed their way back to the postseason, clinching a spot with a wild, shaky Game 161 victory over the Atlanta Braves in the first game of Monday’s rescheduled doubleheader.

It was a game befitting the Mets’ rollercoaster season, one that saw dramatic changes in the lead and seemingly leave them out before rallying one final time to secure a spot in the postseason.

The first part of the game was quiet enough, a game that seemed to be heading towards a Braves victory. The Braves took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a two-run shot by Ozzie Albies off Tylor Megill. Albies has struggled for the most part since returning from a two-month IL stint due to a broken left wrist. As a switch-hitter, Albies is forced to hit only from the right side, a concession to the pain that lingers in his wrist when he hits with the left. But that didn’t matter against the righty Megill, who had not surrendered a home run against the previous 122 Major League hitters he had faced, a stretch dating back to a July 27 start against Atlanta.

Meanwhile, Braves rookie Spencer Schwellenbach secured his place as a candidate among the famed Mets killers. In his 21st big league start, Schwellenbach picked up an eighth-inning shutout, then left to a standing ovation after allowing a leadoff double to Tyrone Taylor.

Spencer Schwellenbach, Nasty 133 mph Curveball. 😷

5th K pic.twitter.com/rEulVx3ghq

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 30, 2024

Then the Mets took over. Francisco Alvarez followed Taylor with an RBI double off Braves reliever Joe Jimenez. Starling Marte backed him up with a single, and Lindor added another run with a single up the middle. Snitker listed the closer, Raisel Iglesias, to face infielder Jose Iglesias. The Mets’ Iglesias promptly hit a tying play to right, and Mark Vientos followed with a sacrifice fly for the go-ahead run. When Brandon Nimmo hit a home run to right field for a 6-4 lead in the next at bat, it felt like the Mets were already on their way to the postseason.

Not quite. After the Braves put two men on the field in the bottom of the eighth, the Mets turned to standout closer Edwin Díaz, who has reliably shut down so many rallies before. This time he struggled to find the strike zone, allowing an RBI single, a walk and then a two-run double to Albies, giving the Braves a 7-6 lead.

But once the Mets were dead, they came back to life. Starling Marte hit a one-out single, leaving Lindor with so much on the line. He delivered, crushing a two-run home run to center field and giving the Mets the 8-7 advantage they would hold until the final out, their dugout emptied and the playoff-bound players jumping up and down around the pitcher’s mound .

WHEEEEEE OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/xu88jaxTMz

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 30, 2024

Although the Mets had qualified, the Mets and Braves still had to play the second game of the doubleheader, with the Braves needing to win to clinch their own playoff spot. That would come at the expense of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who were forced to sit back and watch after playing their 162nd game on Sunday and being on the outside due to tiebreakers.

The doubleheader of Mets-Braves games was played Monday because Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc across the southeastern United States last week and forced the postponement of the scheduled Mets-Braves series in Atlanta. MLB opted not to play the games scheduled for September 25 and 26 at a neutral site or play them earlier last week, pending the weather – resulting in a scenario where the winner of the first game was not incentivized to win the second. , which put both the Mets and Braves in the playoffs and left out the Diamondbacks.

The strange circumstances of the last few games only highlight the difficult path the Mets have taken to get to this point. Under the new leadership of first-year team president David Stearns and rookie manager Carlos Mendoza, the Mets mounted an admirable late-season surge to overtake the Diamondbacks in the race for the final postseason spot.

Just a few months ago, the playoffs seemed like an impossible task. Their season reached a low point on May 29, when New York fell eleven games below .500 after being swept at home by the Dodgers. Reliever Jorge Lopez threw his glove into the stands and was DFA shortly after.

On April 4, during an afternoon game against the Tigers, Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen said, “Nobody on the ballpark, 0-5 (record). Hitless until 7. It feels like rock bottom.”

However, the past three months have been one party after another. Led by shortstop and MVP candidate Lindor, the Mets fought admirably to stay in the mix of the crowded and chaotic NL wild card picture.

When the Mets traded Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander last July, they signaled to those players that the team would not go all-in on 2024. Instead, the year would be used to develop young players and find their best path to the World Series to review. As it turned out, their best path now was to make the playoffs.

The Mets don’t have the most talented club and they are set to face the San Diego Padres or the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild-Card Series. It won’t be easy. But nothing has happened about this season. This opportunity they have is hard earned.

(Photo: Todd Kirkland/MLB Photos via Getty Images)