Morning Briefing: Mets No Longer in a Playoff Spot

Good morning, Mets fans! Tip of the cap to Jacob Young.

The Mets had been in control of a playoff spot every day since April 5, when they were 5-3. Not anymore. In front of a sellout crowd, New York lost its final home game of the regular season 3-2 to the last-place Washington Nationals. Meanwhile, the Reds beat the Cubs 1-0 to pull into a tie with the Mets (80-76) for the final Wild Card spot with six games to go.

Cincinnati owns the tiebreaker because it won the season series over the Mets, meaning the Mets need help this week to play in October.

Sean Manaea gave up three runs in three innings, the Mets made two errors and Nationals center fielder Jacob Young made a pair of stunning catches. He robbed Brett Baty of an extra-base hit on a grab that he came up with after it kicked off his foot on the warning track. He took what may have been a game-tying home run away from Francisco Alvarez in the ninth inning.

Pete Alonso earned a standing ovation in the eighth inning when he was pulled for a pinch-runner in what could end up being his final game at Citi Field in a Met uniform.

A sampling of post-game comments:

Brandon Nimmo: “It’s been happening right in front of our eyes, so yeah, I can definitely believe it. We’re down to the last week of the season and our playoff hopes are in front of us. We’ve got to play winning baseball.”

Carlos Mendoza: “You look at the talent there, we’re one hit away, making one play, making one pitch. We’re close.” Also: “We’ve got to keep going. We’ve got six more. A lot can happen. That’s where we’re at.”

Clay Holmes: “I think everybody here knows where we’re at and what’s ahead of us. As a player, I think there’s still the opportunity to make something special.”

Francisco Lindor: “We’ve put ourselves in this position, so we’ve got to find a way to get out of it.”

Manaea: “It’s do or die at this point, so we’ve got to figure it out.” Also: “If anyone can do it, it’s us.”

NL Wild Card Update

The Mets are off Monday. They close the season with three games at Wrigley Field and three at Miami. The Reds are also off Monday. They have three games at home with the Pirates before visiting Milwaukee to end the season.

The Diamondbacks (79-77) are one game back, the Giants (77-79) are three behind and the Cardinals (76-80) and Marlins (76-80) are clinging to life at four games back. The Marlins have won six in a row.

Latest Mets News

The Mets set a new Citi Field single-season attendance record this year, drawing 3,182,057 to the ballpark. That’s an average of 39,285 per game, which ranks fifth in MLB behind the Dodgers, Yankees, Padres and Phillies.

The Mets reinstated Manaea to the roster from the paternity list before Sunday’s game and reliever Chris Devenski was designated for assignment.

Latest MLB News

Cal Raleigh hit his MLB-leading 58th homer as Seattle finished a sweep of the Astros to take a three-game lead in the A.L. West. The Mariners have won 14 of 15. Raleigh set the franchise home run record when he hit his 57th (passing Ken Griffey Jr.), set the mark for homers by a switch-hitter when he hit his 55th (Mickey Mantle) and broke the record for home runs by a catcher when he hit his 49th (Salvador Perez).

The Brewers clinched their third straight N.L. Central title when the Reds beat the Cubs. “Are we the most talented? No. Are we going to go up against teams far more talented with four times the payroll? Sure, but it doesn’t bother this team,” manager Pat Murphy said.

The Blue Jays (90-66) became the first American League team to clinch a playoff berth with an 8-5 victory over the Royals.

Charlie Morton, 41, who pitched to a 7.09 ERA in nine starts for the Tigers, was designated for assignment. Reliever Tanner Rainey, who Detroit signed in July after he was released by the Pirates, was added to the roster.

Latest on MMO

Johnluke Chapparo recaps the rubber-game loss to the Nationals.

David Melendi writes about the defense costing the Mets in Saturday’s loss.

Kai Chang has all the details on Triple-A Syracuse’s loss to Lehigh Valley.

On This Date in Mets History

1973: Jon Matlack throws a four-hit shutout and strikes out nine in a 2-0 victory over the Cardinals. Wayne Garrett homers. Time of game: 1:55. The Mets take a one-game lead in the division with seven games to go. Five of the National League East’s six teams are within 2.5 games of first place.

2015: Hall of Fame Yankees catcher Yogi Berra, who managed the Mets to the 1973 pennant, dies at 90.

2016: Down 8-6 in the bottom of the 11th inning, Asdrubal Cabrera hits a walk-off, three-run home run to beat the Phillies. The teams used 19 combined pitchers. Jim Henderson, the last of 10 Met pitchers to appear in the game, earns the win.

Born on This Date: Sam Coonrod (1992), Chris Schwinden (1986), Jeff Barry (1969), Mark Guthrie (1965), Vince Coleman (1961), Bob Geren (1961), Wally Backman (1959).

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