Major League Baseball

Braves sweep to take NL East lead; Mets look unprepared for playoffs

Updated Oct. 3, 2022 11:34 p.m. ET

By Deesha Thosar
FOX Sports MLB Writer

The bitter pill was avoidable.

The Mets soared into Atlanta with a one-game lead in the National League East; they left having been swept, chopped and overpowered by the Braves, all but wiping out their shot of winning their first division title since 2015.

The Braves’ magic number is down to one.

Atlanta Braves stay on top: The battle for the NL East isn't over

Ben Verlander and Alex Curry look at the NL East after the Braves' sweep of the Mets over the weekend.

Thanks to a triumphant, come-from-behind win over the Marlins last week, just before heading to Atlanta, the Mets had to win just one game against the Braves this weekend to secure the tiebreaker and have a solid chance of winning the division title. Not even the gloomiest of Mets fans thought one win in Atlanta would be insurmountable for New York, especially with the Mets’ top three arms taking the mound.

But the Mets shriveled under the bright lights, and the Braves came to play. All season, the defending champions have had their eyes on the NL East crown. The Braves weren’t timid about this; they broadcast their intentions for all to hear. They said it was just a matter of time before they caught the Mets and took first place.

And the Mets, instead of furiously defending their 175-day stay in first place, were a no-show in Atlanta. They were never even insulted by Atlanta’s chutzpah. When all was said and done, they tipped their caps to the Braves for doing what they said they would always do.

"The Braves played better," Mets first baseman Pete Alonso said Sunday. "They played excellent baseball this entire weekend. They just flat-out beat us."

Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt combined to record a 6.91 ERA (11 earned runs in 14.1 innings) in their disappointing starts this weekend at Truist Park. New York’s best arms couldn’t hide their mistakes or sneak a few bad pitches past Atlanta’s plucky offense. The Braves combined for seven home runs in the series, led by the power duo of shortstop Dansby Swanson and first baseman Matt Olson, who each homered in all three games.

Pitching wins postseason games, and the clunkers from deGrom, Scherzer and Bassitt are certainly cause for concern heading into the playoffs.

Dansby Swanson crushes two-run home run off Max Scherzer

The Atlanta Braves' Dansby Swanson crushed a two-run home run off Mets pitcher Max Scherzer to give Atlanta a 3-2 lead.

The Mets' offense collected only four extra-base hits across all three games: three home runs and one double. Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Friday’s series opener and 0-for-5 with two more whiffs in Sunday’s series finale, combining for a .154 batting average (2-for-13) in the make-or-break series.

Alonso, Major League Baseball’s RBI leader, collected one hit in each game, and none of those singles drove anyone in. While Atlanta’s stars pumped their fists and yelled with elation into the night, the Mets' best hitters appeared beaten and exhausted.

"It's a clubhouse full of guys who want to win," Olson said of the Braves’ season-long attitude. "That's No. 1 on the program."

The Mets now look a lot weaker heading into the postseason. Winning the division would've earned them a bye week past the wild-card round, one that looks all the more necessary following the tired performances from their pitching staff and lineup alike. Instead, New York is almost certainly headed for a wild-card series against the Padres or Phillies at Citi Field.

In addition to the lack of rest, the Mets' rotation will be weakened should they reach the NLDS. DeGrom and Scherzer, who will pitch in the wild-card round, will be lined up to go only once in the NLDS. And speaking of that NLDS, the Mets will be slated to go up against the Dodgers in an early playoff matchup.

What’s more, for the second straight season, the Mets’ collective attitude and emotion didn’t match the reality they face. Getting swept by the Braves was the worst-case scenario for New York. After being in control of the division for most of the season, including holding a lofty 10.5-game lead June 1, the Mets are two games behind the Braves and no longer in the driver’s seat.

That situation has left another bitter taste for a fan base that has seen this movie too many times.

Rather than showing even a little of that disappointment, manager Buck Showalter essentially stuck to the same lines he has fed to the media all season. Showalter indicated that he was content with the participation trophy of making the playoffs, not even acknowledging the tougher road the Mets have paved for themselves. The uninterrupted positivity from the manager and the roster — after getting swept in the most significant series of the season — was an odd and uncomfortable reaction. Maybe they were still in shock, but it all added up to the Mets playing and acting like an unprepared team on the biggest stage.

"We know what they’re capable of. It just wasn’t there the last three days," Showalter said. "But our guys have answered a lot of challenges and will again. They’re going to get a chance to roll the dice in October regardless. I am proud of everything they have done."

Teams that get swept always look a little dejected and lifeless afterward, like they’ll never win again. But the Mets still have the opportunity to get angry about the sweep and treat the Atlanta series like a wake-up call. Sitting on 98 wins, they host the Nationals beginning Tuesday after Monday's rainout. They have a chance to turn things around and end the season on a better note; they’ve played most of the season like they’re capable of it.

In fact, just a couple of months ago, Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud described the Mets as a complete team.

But the road ahead is now much more difficult. For the Mets, the question is: Can they get back to that complete-team dominance before it’s too late? Their first playoff berth in six years has lost some of the luster it would've had if the Mets had finished the job and won the division.

But they still have the chaos of the playoffs, in which anything can happen, on their side. If they want to show the world that they can rise to the occasion against better teams, they have earned the postseason ticket to do so.

But the bitter pill from getting swept still burns.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.