The Mets and Braves must play a doubleheader today to make up for games rained out by the hurricane in Atlanta this week.
Two Mets wins: The Mets and Diamondbacks go into the playoffs.
Two Braves wins: The Braves and Diamondbacks go into the playoffs.
Split: The Mets and Braves go into the playoffs.
Now, the game logic tends toward the split. Whoever wins the first game today is assured of a playoff spot and will likely rest their starting players in Game 2, while the loser of Game 1 feels tremendous pressure to win Game 2. We saw of version of this play out yesterday when the Padres figured out that if they lost to the Diamondbacks, they would likely face a more exhausted opponent on Tuesday.
However, there is nothing more mind-melting, as a Mets fan, than the sentence, “The Mets are in control of their own destiny.”