MILWAUKEE – Francisco Lindor homered and drove in two runs, David Peterson pitched seven brilliant innings and the New York Mets moved within one win of a playoff berth Sunday with a 5-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Francisco Alvarez also had two RBIs for the Mets, who headed to Atlanta needing at least a doubleheader split Monday against the rival Braves to secure a National League wild card.
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“We have a chance. We get to play and we need one more (win). We feel good,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Nobody expected us to be in this position and here we are with a chance to do something special.”
New York could have clinched a postseason spot Sunday with a win and an Arizona loss, but the Diamondbacks routed San Diego 11-2 at home to complete their regular season.
The afternoon twinbill in Atlanta was scheduled to make up two Mets-Braves games postponed on Wednesday and Thursday due to heavy rain from Hurricane Helene. New York holds a potential tiebreaker over the Diamondbacks after winning the season series 4-3, so the Mets can reach the playoffs by sweeping or splitting the doubleheader.
Arizona (89-73) needs a sweep by either the Braves (88-72) or Mets (88-72) to advance.
If the Mets and Braves split, New York would get the No. 6 seed in the NL playoff bracket and return to Milwaukee for a best-of-three Wild Card Series against the NL Central champion Brewers.
A doubleheader sweep would earn the Mets the No. 5 seed and send them to San Diego, while Arizona would take the No. 6 seed and play at Milwaukee.
A sweep by the Braves would eliminate New York, while a sweep by the Mets would knock out Atlanta.
The Braves get the No. 5 seed with a split or a sweep.
All the first-round series begin Tuesday, and designated hitter J.D. Martinez thinks Monday's makeup doubleheader leaves the Mets at a disadvantage without a potential off day afterward.
“I wish MLB would push the playoffs back a little bit. I think it’s an unfair advantage to the team we’re going to play," Martinez said. "We know what’s on the line and are going to scratch to win those games and then have to turn around and get on a flight after. It’s going to be a tough task. We’ve just got to suck it up and find a way to get through it.”
New York won for just the second time in its last 14 meetings with Milwaukee and finished 1-5 this season against the Brewers.
Peterson (10-3) permitted only a first-inning infield single. He struck out eight and walked three.
“He threw the ball really well and stayed on the attack," Mendoza said. "He was calm and under control and he kept making good pitches.”
Edwin Díaz needed 26 pitches in the ninth to nail down New York's ninth shutout of the year — all since July 11.
The Mets grabbed a quick lead in the first against Colin Rea (12-6) when Lindor walked, stole second base and scored on Brandon Nimmo’s single. Lindor played in the field after serving as DH on Saturday. The star shortstop returned to the lineup Friday after being sidelined for nearly two weeks with lower back pain.
When asked if he'd be able to play 18 innings at shortstop on Monday, Lindor said: “I would love to. We’ll see where I’m at.”
Jose Iglesias led off the third with a single to extend his hitting streak to 20 games, the longest by a Mets player this season.
Martinez snapped a career-worst 0-for-36 slump with a leadoff double in the fourth and scored on Alvarez’s single. Lindor’s run-scoring single later in the inning made it 3-0 and led to chants of “MVP! MVP!” from a vocal group of fans seated behind the New York dugout. Mets owner Steve Cohen was among those in the area. Lindor then stole his second base of the game.
Alvarez’s sacrifice fly in the fifth pushed it to 4-0 and the Mets tacked on another run when Lindor belted his 32nd homer leading off the sixth.
Peterson threw 95 pitches and rebounded from a short outing in his previous start on Sept. 20.
“We’ve been playing important games for a long time now and we understand the magnitude of what these games hold for us," Peterson said.
Milwaukee finished the regular season 93-69, the 11th season in franchise history with 90 or more wins, which follows a 92-70 mark last year.
“We can’t worry too much about who we’re going to play,” manager Pat Murphy said. “We’re going to face one of the best teams in baseball, whoever it is.”
In perhaps his final regular-season home game with the Brewers, shortstop Willy Adames was replaced in the field in the seventh and left to a standing ovation.
ATTENDANCE DIPS
Milwaukee drew 33,754 fans for its regular-season finale at American Family Field to reach total attendance of 2,537,202 for the season, a slight drop from 2,551,347 last year.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: Alvarez returned to the starting lineup after back spasms caused him to leave an 8-4 loss Friday night. He struck out in a pinch-hitting appearance Saturday. Alvarez exited late in Sunday's game after experiencing what he described as cramping in his right hamstring.
UP NEXT
Mets: Tylor Megill is scheduled to start the opener Monday, with Luis Severino lined up for Game 2. But if the Mets win the first game, they'd likely save Severino for Game 1 of a Wild Card Series on Tuesday.
Brewers: Will host the Mets or Diamondbacks in Game 1 of a Wild Card Series on Tuesday.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB