Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY

Thanks to their victory Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the New York Mets are one win over the Milwaukee Brewers away from clinching a playoff berth. Clinching a playoff spot would see the Mets return to the postseason for the first time in six years (2016). This all made possible thanks to the Mets’ 7-3 victory over Pittsburgh, and the Brewers 12-8 defeat at the hands of the New York Yankees on Sunday.

With the Mets’ magic number now two, and the Brewers coincidentally welcoming New York to Milwaukee for a three-game set beginning Monday night, the Mets can simply clinch a playoff berth via win as soon as tomorrow night (Monday). To put it simply, any win by the Mets over the Brewers during the teams’ three-game series would clinch a Mets’ playoff berth.

Game one of the series is slated for Monday night at 7:40 P.M. ET. The game will feature two aces, as the Mets will run out Max Scherzer, in his first start back from injury. Meanwhile, the Brewers turn to their ace, Corbin Burnes (2.97 ERA). If New York does not get it done tomorrow, the Mets will have Carlos Carrasco going in game two and Taijuan Walker in game three. The Brewers have yet to announce a starting pitcher in game two, but will turn to Adrian Houser (4.85 ERA) in the third game of the series.

Worth pointing out, if the Mets were to get swept by Milwaukee, any New York win after the series would knock that magic number of two down by one. Same thing with any Brewers’ loss. That’s why it can be decided as soon as tomorrow.

Of course, the Mets clinching a playoff spot at this point is all but said and done. The bigger attention-grabber is the race for the division, which is far from over. With another victory on Sunday, the Atlanta Braves still only trail the Mets by a single game, with two games less played than New York.

The Mets and Braves will met for a three-game series in Atlanta from September 30 through October 2. Worth noting, if the Mets win at least one of those three games in Atlanta, they would own the tiebreaker for the division over the Braves. That in case those two teams are tied in the standings at season’s end.

Regardless, both the Mets and Mets’ fans should be ecstatic about the possibility of clinching a playoff spot on Monday. Its been six long years where the Mets’ organization has been through so much. When the clinching does happen, which is inevitable, despite it not being for the division, celebration should certainly be in order. After that, the race continues for the division.