Max Scherzer knocks out 11 as Mets sweeps Braves into DH

NEW YORK – Given the way things tend to go around Willets Point, it was easy for some pockets of Mets fans to envision a worst-case scenario entering the five-game series this weekend against the Braves. The Atlanta sweep had propelled the Mets into second for the first time since early April. More so, it would have cemented the Braves as the division’s top favorites entering the extended range of their NL East defense.

Doomsday scenarios can be as much a part of Queens baseball culture as anything that happened in 1969 or 1986. But these Mets don’t want any part of that sarcasm. When the Braves trimmed the NL East’s margin in New York from 10 1/2 games on June 1 to just half a game on July 23, prompting Austin Riley to announce on Braves TV that we were “coming for them,” the Mets ran seven games in a row to regain solid control of the division . When the Braves once again proved themselves more energetic on the trade deadline, the Mets came out and beat them in a five-game series at Citi Field.

With a double-headed scanning process on Saturday, including a file 8-5 win In the match and a 6-2 victory in the Cup of the Night, the Mets snatched that streak of victory over their closest rival in the First Division. Furthermore, they seemed as a team uninterested in being caught. Max Scherzer’s seven points-free innings in Game 2 provided the latest proof of the Mets’ decision to hand him a record $130 million contract this off-season.

With Scherzer, the Mets legitimized their feud. His 11-stroke performance saw him tie with Justin Verlander for 14th on the all-time list, improving his record to 3-1 with 1.37 ERAs in seven games since returning from the injured list. Pete Alonso collected three hits in the Night’s Cup after Francisco Lindor did the same in the park, showing just how powerful the Mets can be when their stars click.