Braves drop finale, forcing win-and-in twin bill against Mets

ATLANTA -- Nothing has come easy for the Braves this year. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that their postseason fate will be learned on what has become the final day of their regular season.

The Braves needed either a win or a D-backs loss on Sunday to clinch a postseason berth. But with their 4-2 loss to the Royals at Truist Park and the D-backs’ 11-2 win over the Padres, Atlanta was instead given a doubleheader assignment against the Mets on Monday.

“We’ve got a chance to make the postseason,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson said. “It’s the same as any day, we’ve got to show up and win tomorrow. Obviously, you would have wanted to do it today and take an easier route tomorrow.”

The Mets and Braves are now tied with the D-backs, who have ended their regular season, in the battle for the National League’s final two Wild Card spots.

Both the Braves and Mets need just one win during Monday’s twin bill to secure one of the Wild Card spots. If either team is swept, then the D-backs would advance to the postseason.

The Braves will start rookie sensation Spencer Schwellenbach in the first game. Schwellenbach has allowed one run over 14 innings against the Mets and he has a 1.79 ERA in the seven starts he has made against NL playoff contenders.

If Schwellenbach doesn’t get the job done, the Braves will give the ball to Chris Sale in the nightcap. Sale needs four strikeouts and to keep his ERA under Tarik Skubal’s 2.39 mark to become the first pitcher to win MLB’s Triple Crown since Johan Santana in 2007, but the veteran would much rather be kept available to start Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, which would be played in San Diego against the Padres on Tuesday.

“The ball is in our court,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “If we can pull one of those off, then it’s just one of those things.”

Sale and Schwellenbach remained options for the doubleheader when Atlanta gambled on Charlie Morton’s ability to help them win on Sunday.

Unfortunately for Morton, in what might have been the final start of his career, it didn’t go as he or the team had wished. The 40-year-old hurler surrendered a three-run homer to Michael Massey before the game’s first out was recorded. He also surrendered a two-out solo homer to Hunter Renfroe in the fourth.

“I don’t know how to feel about that because of the results,” Morton said. “I feel like I let the team down because of the results.”

Had the Braves won, they would have entered the Wild Card Series with both Sale and Schwellenbach available. But the blame extended beyond Morton, who was lifted after 4 1/3 innings.

The Braves scored just two runs despite the fact the Royals went into the seventh inning before using any pitchers who are locks for a postseason roster spot. Alec Marsh allowed two runs -- one earned -- over five innings and lowered his ERA to 4.53.

Gio Urshela’s third-inning leadoff homer and Ramón Laureano’s fourth-inning RBI single accounted for Atlanta’s only runs. The Braves also ran into outs in an untimely manner.

Orlando Arcia was thrown out trying to advance to third base on a pitch that went just to the right of Royals catcher Freddy Fermin to end the top of the third with Marcell Ozuna at the plate.

Jorge Soler was easily thrown out at the plate when he tried to score on a sharp grounder to third base in the fourth.

“It's not a perfect game,” Snitker said. “These guys aren't perfect. It's always tough in those situations, especially with where we were in the lineup.”

Completing a three-game sweep of the Royals would have provided the Braves a chance to begin preparing for the Wild Card Series without first having to get through a doubleheader. But that wouldn’t have been a fitting development during this injury-plagued season that has been filled with challenges.

“We're going to play two ball games and hopefully we go out there and get some big hits and all that,” Snitker said. “It’s up to us. We’ll have to make it happen.”