The Mets (86-76) closed out the 2019 season with their broomsticks, sweeping a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves (97-65) with a Sunday afternoon, 7-6 walk-off triumph.

New York finishes third in the National League East at ten games over .500, setting the foundation to build on for a promising 2020 season. (Box Score)

Offense

The Mets took an early lead, scraping out three runs in the bottom half of the first. Pete Alonso got the offense going with a one-out single to right field, and a base hit from Michael Conforto put runners on first and third. Then, Robinson Cano sent a sacrifice fly to left field that drove in Alonso for the club’s first run of the day. With two outs, J.D. Davis hit a two-run bomb for his twenty-second of the season to make it a 3-1 ball game.

New York got the leadoff man on again in the second when Todd Frazier kicked off the frame with a double. Up next, Tomas Nido was walked to put runners on first and second, and with one out Brandon Nimmo singled, sending in Frazier, but the third baseman was out at home on the throw. Alonso struck out to end the inning and left the pair of runners stranded.

The offense stayed relatively quiet until Joe Panik hit a solo homer off the bench in the eighth to take a 4-3 lead. It was just his second as a Met and his fifth of the season.

Atlanta tied the game up in the ninth. The Mets were unable to respond in the bottom half of the frame, forcing the team into extra innings on the final day of the season.

It looked like the club had a rally going in the tenth when Michael Conforto and Panik knocked back-to-back base hits for first and third with one out. Unfortunately the Mets couldn’t capitalize, stranding the two to send the game into an eleventh inning.

New York put the tying runs on base once again in the eleventh with singles from Luis Guillorme and pinch-hitter Wilson Ramos. Then, with two outs, an unlikely hero in Dominic Smith saved the afternoon. In his first at-bat in over two months after spending time on the injured list, the pinch-hitter shot a three-run, walk-off homer to solidify the 7-6 win. In the words of Gary Cohen, the never-say-die Mets finish the season on an incredible note.

The team scored seven runs on 15 hits and went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Davis went 2-for-4 with a home run, Conforto with 2-for-4 with a walk, and Panik went 2-for-2 off the bench with an RBI.

Pitching

Noah Syndergaard took the mound for New York and tossed a quality start to help lead the Mets to the win, throwing 99 pitches through seven innings. He surrendered just three earned runs on five hits, while striking out nine and walking two.

Thor’s day started on a bit of a sour note when Dansby Swanson kicked off the first with a leadoff double and scored on Adeiny Hechavarria’s RBI single to put the Braves ahead 1-0. Despite the setback, the twenty-seven-year-old would rebound, allowing just two more runs on the afternoon.

Atlanta tied the game up in the fourth when Matt Joyce knocked a two-out single and Rafael Ortega sent a two-run bomb to right field to make it 3-3.

Syndergaard cruised through the rest of his outing looking like vintage Thor, striking out seven of his next ten batters before being lifted for Paul Sewald in the eighth. He ends his season with a 4.28 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 202 strikeouts in 197 2/3 innings pitched.

Sewald took over in relief and dealt a 1-2-3 eighth inning. He returned to the rubber to pitch the ninth and allowed a leadoff, game-tying home run to Hechavarria to make it 4-4. He recorded one out before being lifted for Daniel Zamora, who got the final two outs of the frame.

Tyler Bashlor came in for the tenth and tossed a scoreless frame, striking out two, and walking one.

Walker Lockett took the rubber in the eleventh and surrendered a leadoff single to Billy Hamilton. After failing to get a runner out on the basepaths in the tenth, Nido redeemed himself, throwing a strike to second to get Hamilton for the first out of the frame.

Sadly, Lockett’s outing went downhill quickly when he gave up home runs to Hechavarria and Adam Duvall on back-to-back pitches. He was lifted for Chris Mazza with runners on first and third, after surrendering five straight hits to Atlanta, with the only out coming on Hamilton’s stolen base attempt.

Mazza got out of the frame with one pitch, getting Francisco Cervelli to ground into a double play. He earned his first major league win after the Mets rallied for the lead in the bottom half of the inning.

On Deck

Unfortunately, this is the end of the road for the Mets in 2019. Thanks for following along through this rollercoaster of a season, and continue to keep it locked onto MMO for player report cards, hot stove updates, and much more.