#playoff-elimination

#playoff-elimination

It started with a bloop double from Cody Bellinger that hit off Ceddanne Rafaela's glove and fell to the ground. It wasn't as egregious as Jarren Duran's misplay the night prior, but it was also a catchable ball if he had taken a more strategic route. Unlike Giancarlo Stanton earlier in the game, Bellinger was running from the start and managed to hustle to second.

The bases were loaded in the fifth when Pete Alonso strode to the plate as the tying run. The man who saved the season last year was once again facing the possibility that this would be his last game in a Mets uniform, and there was a sort of steeliness to his gait - a lumbering presence that made it feel as if this deeply unmagical season might have some spark yet.