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          SweetSpot

          What we learned: Mets clinch, three wild-card spots up for grabs

          • David Schoenfield, ESPN Senior WriterOct 2, 2016, 01:20 AM ET
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            • Covers MLB for ESPN.com
            • Former deputy editor of Page 2
            • Been with ESPN.com since 1995

          For you fans of the wild-card chasers, take a deep breath. There is still more important baseball to be played on Sunday.

          1. Mets clinch wild-card spot. The Mets are back where everyone expected they would be when spring training started, but the journey to get here was one of unexpected twists and turns, seemingly three or four seasons wrapped into one Dickensian plot. Remember, back in April, the Mets closed the month with an eight-game winning streak and 11 wins in 12 games. They were 15-7 with an impressive plus-41 run differential and looked like they could challenge the Cubs and Nationals as the best team in baseball. Then the injuries started to mount, Matt Harvey pitched poorly, David Wright went down for the season and on and on. Over the next four months, they were three games under .500 and, on Aug. 19, fell to 60-62. Harvey was done, Steven Matz was out and, knowing Jacob deGrom would make just two more starts and Neil Walker play just four more games, you would figure the Mets were cooked.

          Instead, they've gone 27-12 since and clinched home field for the wild-card game with a 5-3 victory over the Phillies as Bartolo Colon improved to 15-8, Curtis Granderson rapped out three hits and scored two runs and Jeurys Familia recorded his 51st save. Over these 39 games, the Mets have allowed the fewest runs in the majors and scored the second-most (behind only the Braves). They've done well with Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo filling in admirably in the rotation, with Asdrubal Cabrera hitting .350/.413/.650 with 29 RBIs, Granderson hitting .283/.405/.600 with 10 home runs and 32 runs and Yoenis Cespedes driving in 27 runs.

          The Mets are in the playoffs in consecutive seasons for just the second time in franchise history. It's just the wild-card game for now, but the bonus for clinching on Saturday: Noah Syndergaard will skip his scheduled start on Sunday and gear up for his start on Wednesday, possibly against Madison Bumgarner. That sounds like a game worth checking out.

          2. Hey, kid, go beat Clayton Kershaw. "OK, skip, no problem." The Giants didn't have to win this game as they entered the day a game ahead of the Cardinals for the second wild card, but at some point in the top of the first inning, they learned the Cardinals had defeated the Pirates 4-3, so the pressure was on. Ty Blach, however, in just his second major league start, was unflappable. Bruce Bochy had replaced scheduled starter Albert Suarez with Blach and his nine career innings, but this wasn't some crazy hunch on Bochy's part. The Dodgers entered with an OPS 140 points lower against lefties; in fact, they have the worst OPS in the majors (by 41 points) against lefties.

          That said, even Bochy couldn't have expected this line: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 99 pitches. He threw first-pitch strikes to 20 of the 27 batters he faced and even chipped in two hits. Blach had a 3.43 ERA at Triple-A Sacramento but had a 2.01 ERA over his final 11 starts there. How he beat the Dodgers:

          • 55 percent called-strike rate with his fastball (fifth highest for Giants starter this season).

          • Fastball averaged 91 mph.

          • The Dodgers were 1-for-14 after he got ahead in the count 0-1.

          • Induced 15 soft-hit balls and allowed no hard-hit balls. That's the most soft-hit balls without allowing a hard-hit ball for a Giants starter this season.

          So with the 3-0 victory, the Giants remain a game up on the Cardinals. Matt Moore faces Kenta Maeda on Sunday with a chance to send the Giants to New York for the wild-card game.

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          3. Orioles fail to clinch. The Orioles entered the day with a magic number of two, meaning they would have clinched at least a tie for a wild-card spot with a win. They were tied 3-3 with the Yankees in the eighth, but the Yankees scored four runs off Brad Brach -- who came in with one out and allowed a walk, double, single, strikeout and walk -- and Oliver Drake, who gave up a two-run double. Zach Britton remained in the pen, waiting for the save opportunity that never came.

          That's the argument against Britton winning the Cy Young. While Showalter has used him four times in the eighth inning, those all came in save chances. Even though a tie game is a higher-leverage situation than a one-run lead, in the modern game, the team's best reliever is saved for the lead. Or in this case, saved for Sunday.

          4. And suddenly Craig Kimbrel can't throw the ball over the plate. The Blue Jays moved back into a tie with the Orioles with a 4-3 victory over the Red Sox. John Gibbons brought in closer Roberto Osuna for a six-out save after Jason Grilli allowed a double and walk to start the eighth. Osuna got a double play but then balked in the tying run, and Blue Jays fans saw another bullpen meltdown coming. The Boston Red Sox are now having their own bullpen issues too. Kimbrel walked the leadoff batter, who eventually came around to score on a sacrifice bunt, wild pitch and sacrifice fly. In his past three appearances, Kimbrel has walked six batters and lost two games. The Indians also passed the Red Sox by a half-game for the No. 2 seed. The Jays clinch on Sunday with a win.

          5. Bad night for the Tigers. The Tigers were facing Braves rookie Aaron Blair, who entered with a record of 1-7 and an 8.04 ERA in 14 starts. He's now 2-7 after allowing two runs in six innings while striking out 10 in the best game of his young career. In fact, he had zero K's in his previous outing and just nine in his last four games. Baseball: You can't predict it.

          5. Bad night for the Mariners. The Mariners were eliminated in a heartbreaker, a 9-8 loss in 10 innings to the A’s in a game that featured multiple blown leads and comebacks. Seattle got a leadoff single in the bottom of the 10th from Ben Gamel, and he moved up on a wild pitch. The meat of the lineup was up against Ryan Madson, but Robinson Cano got sawed off and grounded out to third, Nelson Cruz hit a bouncer off Madson which rebounded to first baseman Yonder Alonso and Kyle Seager flew out to center field.