{"id":109076,"date":"2024-10-01T10:31:28","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T03:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=109076"},"modified":"2024-10-01T10:31:28","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T03:31:28","slug":"mets-reach-playoffs-beat-braves-to-cap-comeback-from-22-33-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=109076","title":{"rendered":"Mets reach playoffs, beat Braves to cap comeback from 22-33 start"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 These New York Mets know a thing or two about comebacks.<\/p>\n<p>They saved their best one for the final day of the regular season.<\/p>\n<p>Overcoming deficits of 3-0 in the eighth inning and 7-6 in the ninth, they clinched a playoff berth when Francisco Lindor\u2019s two-run homer capped a thrilling <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/mets-braves-postseason-score-95f6b7d1af6907f554b994146a7b5231\">8-7 win<\/a><\/span> over the Atlanta Braves in the opener of a makeup doubleheader Monday.<\/p>\n<p>That was only fitting for a team that started 0-5 and hardly looked like postseason material when it slipped 11 games under .500 in late May.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverybody had us out, even before the year started, and here we are, man,\u201d rookie manager Carlos Mendoza said.<\/p>\n<p>The Mets advanced to a best-of-three NL Wild Card Series starting Tuesday at Milwaukee. <\/p>\n<p>New York lost the nightcap 3-0, but it hardly mattered. Pete Alonso and the Mets had already locked up the 11th postseason berth in team history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re a franchise that hasn\u2019t had enough of these moments,\u201d first-year president of baseball operations David Stearns said during the champagne party in the clubhouse following the twin bill. \u201cWe\u2019ve got more work to do. I don\u2019t think anyone in here is satisfied with just one celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lindor, who returned Friday from a back injury that had sidelined him since Sept. 15, came through with the big hit, launching a drive into the Braves bullpen off Pierce Johnson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn slow motion it felt like,\u201d Lindor said. \u201cEmotion. Emotion. It felt like I got the pitch that I wanted. And you never know if the ball is going to go out or not but I feel like I got it 100%. We\u2019re one step closer. Now we\u2019ve got to finish it. Finish, finish, finish.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asked what he was thinking when he rounded the bases, Lindor said: \u201cMy back hurts. I\u2019m tired. I know how good Atlanta is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>New York had lost 77 straight games when trailing by three runs in eighth inning or later since May 17, 2023.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never seen a game like that. It was just a total rollercoaster,\u201d owner Steve Cohen said, \u201cI had tears in my eyes when we went ahead and then I was in shock when we fell behind. And then Francisco, just a big-boy moment, rises to the occasion. I mean, he must have dreamt of that as a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was a throwback to 1973, when the Mets also clinched a playoff spot on the day after the season was supposed to finish. Back then, they beat the Chicago Cubs 6-4 to secure the NL East title.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are special moments. You\u2019ve got to enjoy these moments,\u201d said Stearns, who grew up a Mets fan in New York City. \u201cThis is the standard of where we should be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This year, a 10-3 loss to the Dodgers on May 29 completed a three-game Los Angeles sweep at Citi Field by a combined 18-5. New York dropped to 22-33 in its first season under Mendoza and was six games out of the last wild-card slot, needing to overcome seven teams.<\/p>\n<p>Lindor called a players-only meeting. As players explained it, the Mets aired some issues 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just opened the floor and talked about ways we can turn it around,\u201d outfielder Brandon Nimmo said then. \u201cJust felt like a boiling-over point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since then, with Lindor leading the charge, they have the best record in the majors at 67-40 while outscoring opponents 541-433.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been an uphill fight,\u201d Lindor said. \u201cWe put ourselves in a big hole and we kept climbing and kept climbing. We kept our shoulders above water. After the All-Star break, you know, we never believed that we were drowning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of New York\u2019s biggest concerns going into the Wild Card Series is the availability of star closer Edwin D\u00edaz, who recovered from a blown save to get the win in the doubleheader opener. The right-hander has thrown 66 pitches over the past two days.<\/p>\n<p>But the Mets haven\u2019t been deterred all season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNobody thought back in April outside of this clubhouse that we were going to make the playoffs, that we had any shot,\u201d Nimmo said. \u201cWe 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\u2019s backs and be able to culminate in this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Baseball\u2019s biggest spenders since Cohen bought the team ahead of the 2021 season, the Mets won 101 games in 2022 and reached the playoffs only to lose a three-game Wild Card Series at home to San Diego. The Mets sank to 75-87 last year, when they had a record $319.5 million payroll and were assessed a record $100.8 million luxury tax. <\/p>\n<p>They began this year as the top spender again at a projected $321 million, including $70 million in payments to teams covering salaries of traded players Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and James McCann. Their projected luxury tax was $83 million.<\/p>\n<p>After the win in the doubleheader opener, Cohen <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/StevenACohen2\/status\/1840870704276758536\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posted on X<\/a><\/span>: \u201cHave you ever seen a game like that? I am so proud of this team. Met fans, go out and celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was such a massive group effort,\u201d Alonso said. \u201cWe earned it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>___<\/h2>\n<p>AP MLB: <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/MLB\">https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/MLB<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>\n  window.fbAsyncInit = function() {\n      FB.init({\n              appId : '870613919693099',\n          xfbml : true,\n          version : 'v2.9'\n      });\n  };\n  (function(d, s, id){\n     var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n     if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}\n     js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n     js.src = \"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\";\n     fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n   }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/mets-clinch-playoffs-420aaa1766f1afb64a58c25529ca31dd\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 These New York Mets know a thing or two about comebacks. They saved their best one for the final day of the regular season. Overcoming deficits of &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=109076\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=109076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109076\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=109076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=109076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=109076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}