Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets wrapped up their regular season on Wednesday when they took on the Nationals at Citi Field. With the Mets already lined up for a matchup with the Padres in the Wild Card round, the Mets sat most of their regulars for game 162.

The Mets’ regulars who did play, Francisco Lindor, Mark Canha, and James McCann, all had big days at the plate knocking Nationals starter Erick Fedde out of the game in just the third inning. Trevor Williams threw six strong innings out of the bullpen as the Mets picked up a 9-2 win in the season’s final game.

In the bottom of the first, the Mets’ bats got going early. With two outs, Canha hit a three-run home run, driving in Francisco Álvarez and Daniel Vogelbach to put the Mets ahead 3-0. The homer was Canha’s 13th of the season and his first since September 10 in Miami.

The Mets kept the pressure on Fedde in the second inning. The Mets loaded the bases for Lindor, who chose to play in the Mets’ finale to avoid having two days off prior to the postseason, ripped a first-pitch changeup to the gap in right-center to drive in all three runners and double the Mets’ lead to 6-0. The double gave him 107 RBIs on the season, extending his career-high.

Things did not get any better for Fedde in the third inning. The Mets tagged him for three runs for the third consecutive inning. With two runners on base and one out, McCann hit a three-run home run off the facing of the second deck in left field to extend the Mets’ lead to 9-0.

Terrance Gore followed the McCann home run with his first hit in three years and first as a Met, putting Fedde’s night and season to an end. The Mets hit everything the Nationals’ right-hander threw, recording nine runs and nine hits over just 2 1/3 innings.

While the Mets’ bats were scoring runs at will, the bullpen was having an impressive day of their own. Mychal Givens returned from the injured list on Wednesday and made his first career start working as an opener. In his first outing in three weeks, Givens pitched a scoreless inning allowing just one single.

After Givens’ inning of work, Williams entered the game and gave the Mets a lengthy outing. After entering in the second inning, Williams retired the first ten hitters he faced including two strikeouts. He ran into some trouble in the fifth inning, allowing three hits including a two-run home run to Alex Call, but he managed to hold the Nationals to just the two runs.

After escaping the fifth inning, Williams threw two more scoreless innings to pick up his third win of the season and wrap up his terrific 2022 season. He pitched six innings total on Wednesday allowing two runs on six hits while striking out six hitters. In 30 games and nine starts, he finished the season pitching to a 3.21 ERA over 89 2/3 innings.

In the eighth, Buck Showalter lifted Lindor to give the crowd an opportunity to acknowledge his incredible second season in New York. The star shortstop played in 161 games and was exceptional on both sides of the ball. Despite the disappointing first year as a Met, Lindor bounced back and showed why he was given his record-setting contract.

Jeff McNeil replaced Lindor in the lineup, but never came to the plate and finished the 2022 season with the highest batting average in baseball at .326.

Trevor May came into the game and continued his strong run to finish the season with a scoreless eighth inning. Since September 1, May has pitched to just a 2.16 ERA with 13 strikeouts over 8 1/3 innings.

The Mets turned to Joely Rodríguez to close out the ninth inning. Like May, Rodriguez has taken what looked like a lost season and finished incredibly well. Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close out the win for the Mets, and has pitched to a 2.74 ERA in 23 innings since the trade deadline.

The win brought the Mets record to 101-61 to finish the 2022 season. With 101 wins, the Mets finished with their second most wins in a season behind just the 1986 championship team.

Player of the Game: James McCann

It is no secret that the Mets have gotten very little offensive production from their catchers in 2022. McCann’s big day at the plate could help sway Showalter’s decision for his starting catcher to start the postseason. He went 3-4 with his third home run of the season while playing first base on Wednesday.

His solid final game along with his career numbers against the Padres’ Game 1 starter Yu Darvish (4-for-10 with two home runs) could make McCann the Mets’ first choice to start behind the plate in Game 1.

On Deck

The Mets will play their first postseason game in six years on Friday when they begin the Wild Card series with the San Diego Padres. The Mets will send Max Scherzer (11-5, 2.29 ERA) to the mound for Game 1. In his lone start against San Diego this season, he went six innings and allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out eight in a loss.

Darvish (16-8, 3.10 ERA) will be the Padres’ starter in Game 1. The National League Pitcher of the Month in September dominated the Mets in 2022, allowing just one run over 14 innings in two starts and picking up the win in both starts. Darvish has struggled in his postseason career, going 2-5 with a 5.18 ERA over seven career postseason starts.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN with an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, and the radio call will be on WCBS 880.