The New York Mets stayed alive in the playoff race Saturday night with a 5-0 win over the Miami Marlins, powered by a combined one-hitter.
Pete Alonso carried the offense, recording two hits, including a home run, and driving in two runs. He was the only Met with multiple hits as New York took care of business in a must-win game.
Clay Holmes set the tone on the mound, tossing six scoreless innings while allowing just one hit. That would stand as the Marlins’ only hit of the night. The bullpen sealed the effort, as Brooks Raley, Tyler Rogers and Edwin Díaz each pitched a perfect inning to close out the shutout.
Manager Carlos Mendoza praised Holmes’ outing, calling it one of the team’s best pitching performances of the season. “With the season on the line, for him to go out there and just completely dominate that lineup was pretty impressive,” Mendoza said. “The sinker was the pitch for him today, and he kept generating ground balls all night.”
The victory came at a crucial moment for the Mets, who remain on the fringe of the National League wild-card race. A loss Saturday would have eliminated them, ceding the final playoff spot to the Cincinnati Reds.
Instead, New York enters the final day of the regular season tied with Cincinnati. The Reds, however, hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. To reach October, the Mets must defeat Miami on Sunday while hoping the Reds fall to the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, the No. 3 seed in the NL, await the wild-card’s final entrant when the postseason begins Tuesday.