Mets vs. Braves final score, results: New York, Atlanta clinch playoff spots with doubleheader split

David Suggs

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Mets vs. Braves final score, results: New York, Atlanta clinch playoff spots with doubleheader split image

Monday's massive doubleheader between the Mets and Braves delivered, and that was true well before the second game even got underway.

The first game devolved into chaos in the final two innings, with the Braves blowing a lead in back-to-back innings and watching their season get pushed to the brink as the Mets celebrated.

The drama intensified when Atlanta scratched starter Chris Sale ahead of Game 2, leaving an inexperienced Grant Holmes and a bullpen that imploded in Game 1 to preserve the franchise's playoff hopes.

MORE: Complete MLB playoff bracket

With the Mets playing for nothing, though, the Braves were able to quiet New York's bats and hold on. It was a dual celebration at Truist Park after the final pitch, but the celebration won't last long before each team jets off to its next destination.

The Mets are headed to Milwaukee to face the Brewers in the wild-card Series, while the Braves will go across the country to face the Padres — and they will have to do it without Chris Sale.

The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, miss the postseason despite finishing five games better than they did in 2023 when they made a run to the World Series. 

The Sporting News tracked live updates from Monday's doubleheader between Atlanta and New York. Check out all of the key moments you might have missed.

MORE: How standings are determined for AL and NL divisional, wild-card ties

Mets vs. Braves box scores

Game 1

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 Game 2

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Mets vs. Braves results, highlights from 2024 MLB doubleheader to clinch Wild Card berths

(All times Eastern)

7:05 p.m. — The Braves win and clinch their seventh consecutive postseason berth. New York is headed to Milwaukee, Atlanta is headed to Milwaukee, Arizona is headed home, and the 2024 regular season is over. The postseason starts in less than 20 hours.

7:04 p.m. — Double play! The Braves are on the doorstep.

7:03 p.m. — Jose Iglesias starts the ninth inning with a single. Brandon Nimmo is looking to turn this into a rally.

7:00 p.m. — We had to the top of the ninth with the Braves in front 3-0.

6:55 p.m. — Joe Jimenez, who struggled earlier today, works a 1-2-3 inning to move the Braves within three outs of the postseason.

6:48 p.m. — The Braves had a chance to add on, but Matt Olson is out at second base trying to stretch a single into a double. Tyrone Taylor had the great throw to nail him. Atlanta is in control, though.

Braves 3, Mets 0

6:46 p.m. 2-RUN SINGLE — Albies reaches on an error, and Marcell Ozuna puts the Braves in complete control with a two-run single. Atlanta can smell October now.

6:38 p.m. — Huascar Brazoban enters for the Mets and walks Sean Murphy to start the seventh.

6:30 p.m.: Lucchesi gets out of the sixth after conceding a one-out double to Soler. We move to the seventh with Atlanta holding a one-run advantage.

6:25 p.m.: It's been a fairly quiet showing by the Mets thus far. However, Lucchesi has impressed. His line to date? 5.1 innings thrown, two hits surrendered and five strikeouts.

6:22 p.m.: Lee gets himself out of danger after Nimmo got Alvarez to third with a single. Coaxes weak contact out of Alonso, who grounds out to third. The Braves' tenuous lead survives for yet another inning.

6:16 p.m.: Hernandez's day comes to a close after plunking Alvarez on to lead off the inning. Dylan Lee will enter the game with two outs. He's got quite the matchup ahead of him; Lee will face Nimmo, who bagged a eye-catching homer in the matchup earlier in the day.

6:05 p.m.: Atlanta holding firm in front. However, the Mets are starting to breach the gates a bit. They got two runners on after Holmes surrendered his first hit and first walk of the day. Snitker went to the bullpen, swapping Holmes for reliever Daysbel Hernandez. The 28-year old proceeded to record two K's and a groundout to sidle his way out the fifth.

5:42 p.m.: Holmes keeping his strong start going. He collects another K in his endeavors. Now, he's up to four no-hit innings.

5:34 p.m.: Lucchesi hasn't been too shabby in his own right. He's up to four K's through three innings. He only had two entering into Monday's contest.

5:20 p.m.: Things going pretty swimmingly for Holmes through three innings. He's yet to surrender a baserunner and has six strikeouts. 

5:12 p.m.: The Braves kick off the scoring courtesy of Urshela, who rips a cut fastball into center field to bring in Soler.

Braves 1, Mets 0

5:05 p.m.: One inning down in this one. And little has happened, save for Joey Lucchesi walking Marcell Ozuna. We're at 0-0 to start the second.

4:40 p.m.: Here's a look at New York and Atlanta's lineups for Game 2. A good few changes for the Mets, who bring Luisangel Acuna, Luis Torrens and Eddy Alvarez into the fold.

The Braves, meanwhile, put out an essentially unchanged team save for the pitcher spot and catcher. Sean Murphy will supplant D'Arnaud in the backstop for Game 162.

4:30 p.m.: Big news coming out of the Braves' camp. Chris Sale, Atlanta's ace and the prospective NL Cy Young winner, will miss tonight's games with back spasms. He was expected to start Game 2 after Atlanta's Game 1 defeat. Grant Holmes will take his place on the mound.

End of Game 1: Mets 8, Braves 7

4:20 p.m.: If you need a visual reflection of how topsy-turvy Monday's contest was, MLB Network's Sarah Langs has you covered.

4:09 p.m.: D'Arnaud grounds out to Lindor, of all players! New York is heading to the postseason!

4:08 p.m.: Diaz gets Laureano gone with the slider. D'Arnaud is Atlanta's last chance.

4:07 p.m.: White takes second on a swinging strike.

4:05 p.m.: White strokes one into center field to put the game-winning run at the plate. Diaz waves off Mendoza. He wants to do this himself. Laureano steps to the plate.

4:03 p.m.: One pitch, one out: Diaz fools Olson with the inside heat, forcing the Atlanta slugger into a pop up.

4:02 p.m.: Mendoza gives the ball to Diaz for the ninth. He'll have quite the matchup to open the inning; Olson is leading off for the Braves.

4:00 p.m.: Johnson slips a breaking ball past Alvarez for the third out. Does Atlanta have anything left in the tank?

3:54 p.m.: HOME RUN! Who else but Lindor? He rips Johnson's slider into the shadow realm for his 35th homer. More importantly, he gives New York the lead.

Mets 8, Braves 7

3:53 p.m.: Marte gets on base with a single. He sets the table for the Mets' MVP hopeful, Lindor.

3:52 p.m.: Pierce Johnson takes Raisel Iglesias' place on the mound. He immediately makes an impact, getting Jose Iglesias to fly out to third to start off the ninth. Atlanta is two outs away.

3:47 p.m.: THREE-RUN DOUBLE! Albies laces a 3-1 fastball into the right field line, clearing the bases and giving Atlanta a one-run advantage.

Braves 7, Mets 6

3:45 p.m.: Diaz walks Harris on four pitches. Albies struts to the plate with the bases loaded.

3:43 p.m.: Great snag by Alonso on Kelenic's heater up the first-base line. However, Diaz stood on the mound admiring his teammate's play as opposed to racing to first. Kelenic makes it to the bag without a play, while White crosses home. Two on, two out for Harris.

Mets 6, Braves 4

3:42 p.m.: Diaz coaxes Urshela into a weak grounder. D'Arnaud moves to second, while White opts to stay at third. Jarred Kelenic is warming up on deck.

3:38 p.m.: D'Arnaud comes up clutch, getting enough on an outside fastball to bloop it in between Lindor and Jeff McNeil. White takes third after getting a good jump. New York is turning to its star closer, Edwin Diaz, in the hopes of putting this game on ice.

3:36 p.m.: Marte snags Laureano's lazy fly ball. One away.

3:35 p.m.: White takes first after taking a fastball to the hand. Laureano steps to the plate now.

3:33 p.m.: Eli White leading off for the Braves in the top of the eighth.

3:30 p.m.: Taylor flies out to end the frame. But the damage is done. New York is six outs away from an NL Wild Card berth.

3:24 p.m.: HOME RUN! That might be the dagger! Brandon Nimmo takes Raisel Iglesias deep, connecting with a center cut fastball and depositing it deep into the right field concourses. What a rally.

Mets 6, Braves 3

3:21 p.m.: Raisel Iglesias' slider caught too much of the plate, giving Vientos an opportunity to float a pitch into shallow center field. Harris is an excellent defender. But he didn't have enough juice on his throw, which falls way short of the striking Lindor. New York takes the lead!

Mets 4, Braves 3

3:19 p.m.: Jose Iglesias delivers! He takes Iglesias' outside pitch opposite field, firing a liner into right field to score Starling Marie. The game is tied at 3! New York still has two ducks on the pond, one of whom is Lindor, who has great speed at third base.

Braves 3, Mets 3

3:18 p.m.: Lindor does it again! He overcomes his back injury to slap Joe Jimenez's effort into the center field corridor, driving in Alvarez and bringing New York's deficit to just one. New York has two runners on with zero outs. Closer Raisel Iglesias will supplant Jimenez after Atlanta's reliever conceded three hits without recording a single out.

Braves 3, Mets 2

2:40 p.m.: HOME RUN! Laureano continues his hot stretch, smoking a Megill effort into the bleachers as Atlanta extends its lead to three runs.

Braves 3, Mets 0

2:20 p.m.: New York is percolating in the top of the fifth. Alonso and Vientos got on to open up the frame.

2:16 p.m.: Megill gets out of the inning unscathed, recording two K's before forcing Harris to fly out to center.

2:14 p.m.: Megill returns to the mound for the bottom of the fourth and starts the frame by collecting his sixth strikeout after Soler goes fishing for high fastball.

2:13 p.m.: He does it! It's been a fairly impressive opening three frames by Schwellenbach, who looks well on his way to a strong showing in Game 1.

2:08 p.m.: Schwellenbach coaxes two groundouts, one of which landed in his own path, as Atlanta moves one out closer to getting out of the third inning.

2:06 p.m.: Megill gets the all-important third strike to end the frame. But he had to deliver nearly 30 pitches to get out of the inning. We'll see how long Mendoza goes to the well before turning to his bullpen.

2:04 p.m.: Alvarez lets a fastball slip past his surveillance. Olson and Laureano move up 90 feet.

2:02 p.m.: Laureano laces one into the right field grass, setting up D'Arnaud with two runs and two outs after Soler flied out one at-bat earlier

1:58 p.m.: Atlanta is starting to find a rhythm at the plate. Ozuna made good contact on another Megill misfire. His attempt just happened to nestled into Vientos' glove. Then, Olson gets on with a hard-hit single past Iglesias in second base.

1:55 p.m.: HOME RUN! Albies pumps Megill's errant slider over the left field bleachers to open the scoring. Impressive swing by the three-time All-Star, who only recently came back from a left wrist injury. He's a switch hitter and would typically bat lefty against the right-handed Megill. The injury forced him to take the plate on the right side. He won't be complaining much now.

Braves 2, Mets 0

1:53 p.m.: Harris squirts one past a diving Lindor to give Atlanta a duck on the pond to start the half-inning. Harris has good speed. Wouldn't be surprised if Brian Snitker considered sending him at some point in the coming few at-bats.

1:48 p.m.: Schwellenbach tiptoes out of trouble of his own, conjuring up a Lindor grounder to first to end the frame after Tyrone Taylor got on via infield single.

1:42 p.m.: Megill coaxes Arcia into the checked swing K. He tightropes his way out of the inning.

1:40 p.m.: Urshela whiffs on Megill's two-strike offering. SS Orlando Arcia will attempt to salvage something from the inning.

1:37 p.m.: Wonderful snag by Vientos, who dove to reel D'Arnaud's unruly effort. However, while attempting to translate the ball from glove to throwing hand, he lost his grip. Laureano advances while D'Arnaud gets to first. Gio Urshela has a chance to drive in the first run of the game.

1:36 p.m.: Laureano gets on with an infield single, besting an on-rushing Vientos.

1:35 p.m.: Jorge Soler grounds into Alonso in first to start the bottom half of the second. Up steps Ramon Laureano in the six spot.

1:30 p.m.: Schwellenbach records another 1-2-3 inning as the Braves escape the top half of the second.

1:25 p.m.: Olson strikes out on a low fastball. Megill gets out of the frame unscathed.

1:24 p.m.: Ozuna goes down on strikes after swinging over a Megill slider. Two down with Olson up.

1:23 p.m.: Francisco Alvarez takes a shot to the ankle on Ozuna's foul ball. Looks like he'll be good to carry on. But that one had to smart.

1:20 p.m.: Ozzie Albies takes a pair of close ones on the outside en route to a walk. Sets the table for 39-homer man Marcell Ozuna.

1:18 p.m.: Harris grounds out to Lindor. One away.

1:16 p.m.: Vientos whiffs on Schwellenbach's slider, bringing the inning to a close. Fairly clean showing by the Braves rookie: 12 pitches, 10 strikes and two strikeouts to start the game.

1:15 p.m.: Schwellenbach sets Iglesias aside on three pitches. He'll set his sights on Mark Vientos to get out of the frame.

1:13 p.m.: Lindor grounds out to Albies in second base. One away. Jose Iglesias strides to the plate for the next at-bat. He enters Monday's games on a 20-game hit streak.

1:11 p.m.: Lindor leads off against Schwellenbach. We are underway from Truist Park.

1:03 p.m.: Michael Harris II and Matt Olson have shined in recent weeks for the Braves, posting dueling 1.000 OPS totals during September. Megill will have to be at his best to keep them off the base on Monday afternoon.

12:55 p.m.: We're about 15 minutes from first pitch at Truist Park. Game 1 is expected to be played at a fever pitch. The circumstances are too important not to be; both New York and Atlanta are dealing with injury crises. The winner of the first game will be able to rest any and all pivotal players for Game 2, avoiding injury and keeping them fresh for matchups with San Diego and Milwaukee.

12:40 p.m.: For a reminder of the various wild card permutations which could spring up during today's contests, here's a look at the NL Wild Card clinching scenarios, as laid out by TSN's Dan Treacy:

  • Split: Braves clinch, Mets clinch, Diamondbacks eliminated
  • Braves sweep: Braves clinch, Diamondbacks clinch, Mets eliminated
  • Mets sweep: Mets clinch, Diamondbacks clinch, Braves eliminated

12:25 p.m.: We know who will be climbing the hill for the first leg of Monday's doubleheaders. Mets boss Carlos Mendoza played things coy while speaking to reporters prior Game 1's first pitch.

12:00 p.m.: For those wondering how the Diamondbacks are approaching Monday's games, here's insight from USA Today reporter Bob Nightengale.

10:45 a.m.: Here's a look at the lineups both teams will trot out for Game 1. Not too many surprises on either end. Tylor Megill (4-5, 3.98 ERA, 83 K's) and Spencer Schwellenbach (8-7, 3.47 ERA, 122 K's) will take the ball for the Mets and Braves, respectively.

Mets vs. Braves Game 1 start time

  • Date: Monday, Sept. 30
  • First pitch: 1:10 p.m. ET
  • Location: Truist Park, Atlanta

First pitch for Game 1 of Monday's doubleheader between the Mets and Braves is set for 1:10 p.m. ET.

Mets vs. Braves Game 2 start time

  • Date: Monday, Sept. 30
  • First pitch: 4:40 p.m. ET
  • Location: Truist Park, Atlanta

First pitch for Game 2 of Monday's doubleheader is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. ET.

How to watch Mets vs. Braves

  • Channel: ESPN2
  • Live stream: ESPN+, Fubo

ESPN2 will carry coverage for Monday's doubleheader between the Mets and Braves. Karl Ravech will lead the broadcast with play-by-play coverage. He'll be joined by analysts David Cone and Eduardo Perez in the booth and Buster Olney in the dugout.

Cord-cutters can find the contests on ESPN+ or Fubo, which offers a free trial.

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David Suggs

David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.