With their 10-2 win over the Reds in Cincinnati last night, the Mets clinched the NL East title and earned their first postseason berth since 2006. Following reliever Jeurys Familia’s strikeout of the Reds’ Jay Bruce to end the game, the Mets swarmed the field and the celebration began, eventually moving back to the clubhouse where players and staff, donning “The East Is Ours” playoff apparel and protective ski goggles, showered each other in beer and champagne. Said bewildered team captain David Wright, the only current player to have been around for the Mets’ last playoff run, “It’s been a long time. Too long.”
Following a pair of three-run homers on Friday night, Mets first basemen Lucas Duda gave the team all the runs they would end up needing with his first inning grand slam, and team ace Matt Harvey pitched 6 2/3 innings to earn his 13th win and fifth straight decision. Harvey, who has been embroiled in an inning-count controversy in his first season back following Tommy John surgery, had told manager Terry Collins to ignore any limits in the game. “This is the best day of my baseball career, by far,” Harvey told reporters during the celebration.
The division title is the culmination of a second-half surge in which the Mets’ trade-revitalized offense helped produce 33 wins in 50 games since the start of August. Saturday’s victory was also the club-record 10th straight road win for the team. Looking ahead, the Mets will most likely face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round of the playoffs next month, and whichever team finishes the season with the best record will get home-field advantage for that series. Going into Sunday’s games, the Mets currently have a half-game lead in that contest.
Watch some of last night’s celebration below: