'Destiny was on us': Mets prevail in all-time classic to clinch WC berth

ATLANTA -- David Stearns grew up a Mets fan in the 1990s, which pockmarked his childhood with scenes of cartoonish horror. No matter how much the Mets accomplished, no matter their accolades, they could never seem to upend the Braves when it mattered. Georgia became the equivalent of a brick ceiling over their heads.

Now 39 years old and the team’s president of baseball operations, Stearns has been charged with transforming all facets of the organization. After the Mets won one of the most stirring regular-season games in franchise history at Truist Park, an 8-7 win in Game 1 of a doubleheader that allowed them to clinch a playoff berth, that charge is far from complete. Yet the victory pushed the Mets firmly in that direction, securing a spot for them in the Wild Card Series against the Brewers.

“In terms of regular-season Mets games, I’m not sure I can come up with one that tops this -- in terms of both the ups and downs, what it meant to do this here,” Stearns said. “It was important for us to do this here. And, frankly, who did it at the end -- to have Francisco come through like that, it’s kind of the way it should be.”

Francisco, of course, is Francisco Lindor, the beating heart and de facto captain of a Mets team that has so often failed to find someone capable of producing season-defining moments. In Game 1 on Monday, Lindor filled that void, hitting a two-run homer in the ninth inning to snatch victory away from the Braves.

As the most significant hit of Lindor’s Mets tenure sailed over the center-field fence, he did not react. He did not emote. Quietly, deliberately, Lindor lowered his head and trotted around the bases.

“It felt in slow motion,” he said.

Lindor’s home run turned one of the wildest Major League Baseball games of this season on its head, transforming a dispiriting Mets loss -- that same old story, those same old Atlanta demons -- into an instant classic. When closer Edwin Díaz released his final pitch, several Mets already had one leg hoisted onto the dugout rail, ready to use it as leverage to launch themselves onto the field. When they did, they celebrated modestly, knowing they still had the second game of a doubleheader to play.

Only after a Game 2 loss put the Braves alongside them in the postseason did the Mets finally get to party. Standing in the middle of a clubhouse that had overseen so much of their recent heartache, the Mets sprayed champagne, sang along to Latin music, jumped up and down and shouted playfully at each other. Pete Alonso walked around with a lighter to set his teammates’ cigars ablaze. Eventually, they all spilled onto the field for a photo, their trademark “OMG” sign resting on Lindor’s right leg.

“I’ve said it from Day 1, I believe we have the team to do special things,” Lindor said. “It was on us. Before the game, destiny was on us. We controlled our own destiny. We had an opportunity today to come out and do something special, and we did.”

Their path was not easy; Atlanta threw everything it had at the Mets, taking a three-run lead into the eighth inning. That’s when the Mets began embodying the resilience they’ve shown all season, rallying for six runs, including a Jose Iglesias game-tying single, a Mark Vientos go-ahead sacrifice fly and an exclamation mark of a Brandon Nimmo homer.

“We were just looking for a little magic,” reliever Adam Ottavino said. “And we got it.”

Still the Braves battled, gripping tightly to the weight of history. Ozzie Albies hit a go-ahead, three-run double in the bottom of the eighth, reigniting fears that this Mets team would be no different. That the city of Atlanta would play host to the same old horrors, the same old oppression. It was Sisyphus, pushing his rock up the hill. The Braves would always be at the top, prepared to kick it down.

“I was in tears in the eighth inning when we went ahead,” owner Steve Cohen said. “I was in shock when we lost the lead. And then Francisco stepping up in an incredible moment -- he’s probably dreamt of it his whole life.”

This was a signature moment for Lindor, his forever stamp on the organization. And it opened the door for more moments to come. After celebrating, the Mets changed into dry clothes and boarded a flight bound for Game 1 of an anything-can-happen, best-of-three Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday in Milwaukee. It will be a challenge. The Brewers were a better team during the regular season and a better team during a three-game series between the clubs just last weekend.

But a Mets team capable of vanquishing the Braves is theoretically capable of vanquishing anything.

“Look, this has been a miserable place for the Mets,” Stearns said, his dress shirt soaked with alcohol as he stood at one end of the Truist Park clubhouse. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do here, but for us to do this here was important. And I’m glad we did it.”