The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves are jockeying back and forth for the final National League Wild Card playoff spot. Tuesday was a perfect day for the Amazins, as they blew out the Washington Nationals 10-1 and the Braves lost to the Reds to expand the lead to two games. Prospect Luisangel Acuña was in the lineup and hit his first career home run to cap off the night.

Acuña is a highly-touted infield prospect for the Mets who has played shortstop in Francisco Lindor's absence. The 22-year-old was acquired from the Rangers in the Max Scherzer trade in 2022. While Acuña appears to have a bright future ahead of him, the Rangers will certainly take the World Series ring that came with the deal as well.

Luisangel Acuña is the half-brother of Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr, who is out for the season with an ACL injury. While his brother's team falters, the younger Acuña has taken advantage. He must make it difficult to keep him off the playoff roster. Jeff McNeil is out for the season but Jose “Candelita” Iglesias is a fan and clubhouse favorite. That might not matter, as Acuña could be here to stay,

The Mets came into the season with a 30% chance of making the playoffs, according to Fangraphs. Now, they hold a two-game lead and look to close it out with a series against the Braves.

The Mets' roundabout path to the playoffs

New York Mets shortstop Luisangel Acuna (2) follows through on a solo home run against the Washington Nationals during the eighth inning at Citi Field. The home run was the first of his major league career.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images

A season with low expectations started terribly for the Mets. Francisco Lindor had a terrible April, hitting .197 with 11 RBIs in 29 games, and the team sank with him. They were 15-14 on May 1, with just a 29.2% chance of making the playoffs. It got even worse in May, with a 10.8% probability on June 1 and a 24-33 record. And then a purple fast food mascot showed up.

Crediting this season to Grimace, the McDonalds mascot who threw out the first pitch on June 12, would be overly simplistic. It is worth mentioning that their record is 53-31, the best in the National League since then. And that their playoff probability has risen 54% since that fateful day. But the shortstop has much more to do with the rise than the mascot.

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Lindor has been tremendous this season, posting 31 homers, 86 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases while playing a Gold Glove-level shortstop. The MVP-caliber season will likely lose out to Shohei Ohtani's 50/50 campaign, but there's no questioning Lindor's greatness. These are big shoes for Luisangel Acuña to fill, but he started on a great foot Tuesday night.

While the great play started back in June, the playoff race began in August. The Mets traveled out to San Diego and Arizona to take on two of the hottest teams in the league. They went 4-3 in those seven games, holding serve in the Wild Card race. And then, they caught fire. A series finale win over the Diamondbacks was the first of nine in a row that secured them in the race.

The Mets are going to Atlanta to take on the Braves starting on Tuesday, September 24. They must have Luisangel Acuña and Francisco Lindor in the lineup when they do. These players give them the best chance of winning a series they must have to make the postseason.