Inside The Mets

Mets back in control of playoff destiny after dramatic win

The Mets are back to a one-game lead over the Reds for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.
Logan VanDine|
Sep 23, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) reacts after hitting a one run single against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
Sep 23, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) reacts after hitting a one run single against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

In this story:

New York Mets

If there was ever a game the New York Mets needed to have to save their season, perhaps Tuesday's win over the Chicago Cubs was just that.

The Mets rallied from a 6-1 deficit to defeat the Cubs, 9-7, on the heels of four home runs by New York's lineup. This gave the team a one-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds, who lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Despite seeing David Peterson continue to struggle on the mound, lasting just 1.1 innings, the Mets' offense was able to erupt when it mattered the most against the Cubs' pitching staff.

After entering the top of the fifth inning down by five, the Amazins' rallied and took advantage of a couple of base hits and a key Cubs error by shortstop Dansby Swanson. The most significant hit of the inning was a left-on-left three-run homer by Brandon Nimmo to tie the game at six.

Read More: Mets' Carlos Mendoza sends message amid final week of regular season

While Chicago was able to tie the game at seven in the bottom of the sixth inning after Francisco Lindor gave the Mets the lead in the top half of the frame, they were able to take the lead for good thanks to a two-run homer by Francisco Alvarez in the top of the eighth inning.

Edwin Díaz then locked down his third six-out save of the season, striking out five of the six batters he faced to propel the Mets to their most dramatic win of the season and get them back in control of their playoff destiny with the Reds' loss. The Mets' magic number to clinch that final Wild Card spot in the National League is now down to five games with less than a week to go in the regular season.

With the Mets knowing there is absolutely no room for error throughout these final games of the season, manager Carlos Mendoza explained why he was confident in Díaz's ability to record a six-out save going up against an elite Cubs offense.

"Where we're at now, we're gonna continue to push those guys," Mendoza said. "I just thought you know, tie ballgame, top of the order coming up for them, we had our guys coming up for the ninth, I needed to give our offense another chance to score some runs. I'm glad that Alvy hit that home run there. I stuck with Díaz and once he was pitching efficient, I checked with him and he's like, 'let's go."'

The Mets will now look to make it two straight against the Cubs on Wednesday and maintain their one-game lead over the Reds, with Jonah Tong toeing the slab for them against the Cubs' Matthew Boyd.

Recommended Articles:

Published
Logan VanDine
LOGAN VANDINE

Logan VanDine is a contributing writer for On SI's Mets. Logan is a graduate of Rider University where he majored in Sports Media and minored in Sports Studies. During his time at Rider, Logan worked for Rider's radio station, 107.7 The Bronc as a sports host, producer and broadcaster, and for the school's paper: The Rider News. He began his time with The Rider News as a section writer for sports and was a copy editor for two years followed by being one of the sports editors during his senior year. Logan also placed third in the New Jersey Press Foundation Awards for sports feature writing. Aside from his work at On SI, he is also a writer for FanSided covering the New York Giants and Mets and also covers the Giants for Total Apex Sports. Give him a follow on X: @VandineLogan

Home/News