MILWAUKEE (AP) — For the New York Mets, a playoff spot was certainly worth celebrating. Even if they still have bigger goals on the table in the middle of a heated pennant race.
Max Scherzer was pulled from his 200th win with a perfect game intact, and the Mets clinched their first trip to the postseason in six years by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 7-2 on Monday night.
Reinstated from the injured list before the game, Scherzer (10-4) struck out nine in six innings. The 38-year-old ace threw only 68 pitches, but that was as far as the NL East leaders let him go in his first start in 16 days.
Brewers star Christian Yelich doubled leading off the seventh against Tylor Megill, making his first major league relief appearance after 27 starts. Megill also came off the injured list earlier in the day.
Pete Alonso hit a three-run homer off reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes (10-8), and the Mets won their fifth straight to wrap up at least one of the three National League wild cards. They lead their division by one game over defending World Series champion Atlanta, which beat Washington 5-2 at home.
“This is what you play the game for. You play the game to go to the postseason,” Scherzer said. “We have a lot of things in front of us and we understand that. But, man, you’ve got to celebrate the good times, too.”
Mets players and coaches hugged and high-fived on the field after the final out, then enjoyed a boozy but subdued celebration in the clubhouse.
“This is just the first step. I have high expectations,” owner Steven Cohen, wearing a Mets cap, said after giving a postgame speech to the team. “If we can win the division, that would be great. Obviously, Atlanta is a great team, and it will probably go down to the wire, and then we’ll see what happens in the playoffs. I think this is a team that can go really far.”
It is the 10th postseason appearance in the franchise’s 61-season history, and first since the Mets lost to San Francisco in the 2016 NL wild-card game.
“We understand this is not the end goal, but it’s part of our destiny,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said.
Mets players took a group photo and selfies on the field after the game. In the clubhouse, Scherzer held a bottle of Ace of Spades champagne while drinking out of a paper Gatorade cup.
The New York Mets pose for a picture after a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in Milwaukee. The Mets won 7-2 to clinch a place in the postseason. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
