Mets, Braves sq. off in make-up DH as each vie for playoffs

The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets each need one victory to qualify for the postseason when they meet in a make-up doubleheader on Monday in Atlanta.

Both teams are 88-72 and are in a virtual tie with Arizona (89-73) for the National League’s two final wild-card spots. If Atlanta and New York split the twin bill, both will advance to the playoffs since each team holds the tiebreaker over Arizona.

But if either team sweeps the doubleheader, the winning team would qualify for the postseason and the loser will be eliminated, sending the Diamondbacks to the wild-card round. Atlanta leads the season series against the Mets 6-5.

“The way we started this year (twice 11 games under .500), nobody expected us to be in this position,” New York manager Carlos Mendoza said. “And here we are with a chance to do something special. We’ll go back to Atlanta and get that last one and go from there.”

Atlanta manager Brian Snitker, whose team is trying to qualify for the playoffs for the seventh straight season, said, “The ball is in our court. If we can’t pull one of those off, then you know it’s just one of those things. We’ve done a good job coming out every day and trying to go 1-0. We’ll start fresh with two of our better guys going.”

The Braves will go with rookie Spencer Schwellenbach (8-7, 3.47 ERA) in the opener and Chris Sale (18-3, 2.38) in the second game. If the Braves win the first game, they will readjust their plans for the nightcap and reserve Sale for the opener of the wild-card series.

Schwellenbach beat the Mets on Tuesday, the right-hander allowing one run in seven innings. He has given up just one run in 14 innings in two starts against New York.

Sale has already clinched the National League triple crown for pitchers. He leads the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts (225 in 177 2/3 innings). The last pitcher to lead the NL in all three categories was Clayton Kershaw in 2011.

In his four starts in September, Sale is 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA. His last loss came against the Chicago White Sox on June 27 when he allowed one run over seven innings in a 1-0 loss. Sale’s most recent start came against the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 19 when he pitched five innings and allowed two runs to get the win.

Sale has faced the Mets once this year and received a no-decision on July 25 after allowing two runs in 7 1/3 innings. He is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in four career starts against the Mets.

The Mets have not yet finalized their pitching plans for the doubleheader.

“Everything is on the table,” Mendoza said. “We have a chance. We’re right there and we get to play and we need one more, so we feel good.”

Luis Severino (11-7, 3.91) will start one of the games. The veteran faced the Braves on Tuesday, taking the loss after allowing four runs in four innings. In five career starts against the Braves, Severino is 1-2 with a 4.13 ERA.

If the teams split, the Braves would open the playoffs at San Diego and the Mets would be at Milwaukee. If either team sweeps, it would open at San Diego, which would allow Arizona to make the playoffs and send the Diamondbacks to Milwaukee.

–Field Level Media