The New York Mets can take solace in one thing: The 2026 schedule does NOT have them ending the regular season with a series against the Marlins.
Miami's 4-0 victory over the Mets on Sunday kept them out of the playoffs — even though New York got the help it needed in the form of a Milwaukee win over Cincinnati. It was deja vu for Mets fans after the Marlins also derailed New York's postseason hopes in game 162 in 2007 and 2008.
It shouldn't have been a shock this time. The Marlins had ex-Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara, hard-throwing youngster Eury Pérez and solid right-hander Edward Cabrera lined up to start against the Mets, and Miami taking two of three — even with little to play for — was always a realistic possibility.
In the end, New York (83-79) only finished four games ahead of Miami (79-83) in the standings. The Marlins had an over/under of 62 1/2 wins before the season according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Their 16 1/2-win overperformance was the best in baseball, and they won 13 of their final 17 games.
Miami is one of eight teams that betting markets missed on by more than 10 games. Here are the others:
Atlanta Braves (preseason over/under: 93 1/2, actual win total: 76)
Colorado Rockies (preseason: 59 1/2, actual: 43)
Milwaukee Brewers (preseason: 82 1/2, actual: 97)
Toronto Blue Jays (preseason: 79 1/2, actual: 94)
Minnesota Twins (preseason: 84 1/2, actual: 70)
Los Angeles Dodgers (preseason: 105 1/2, actual: 93)
Baltimore Orioles (preseason: 86 1/2, actual: 75)
One team on that list is not like the others. The Dodgers underperformed by 12 1/2 games but still won the NL West. Los Angeles dealt with plenty of injuries and seemed to be on cruise control at times. This won't be the historically great season that some thought possible, but the Dodgers can still become the first team since 2000 to repeat as World Series champs.
New heights
Aaron Judge won his first American League batting title with a .331 average. At 6-foot-7, he's the tallest batting champion. The previous high of 6-foot-5 included Derrek Lee, Joe Mauer, John Olerud, Dave Parker and Frank Thomas.
Rock bottom
The Rockies were 9-50 at one point, then played just well enough to avoid surpassing the modern record for losses, set last year when the Chicago White Sox went 41-121. Colorado went 6-29 down the stretch and finished 43-119.
The Rockies did set another mark for futility, finishing with a run differential of minus-424, the worst in modern history. The previous record was minus-349 by the 1932 Boston Red Sox, who went 43-111.
A record seven players had 30-30 seasons this year. Name them.
Nick Lodolo struck out 12 and allowed two hits in 6 1/3 innings to help the Reds beat Pittsburgh 2-1 on Thursday — an important part of the push that eventually got Cincinnati in the postseason.
Down 8-3 in the seventh inning, the St. Louis Cardinals scored four runs in the seventh and two in the top of the ninth to beat San Francisco 9-8 on Tuesday night. The Giants had a 97.7% win probability at one point according to Baseball Savant.
Brendan Donovan hit four doubles, including one in the ninth that drove in the tying run. Alec Burleson's RBI single put the Cardinals ahead.
Iván Herrera hit a three-run homer and Nolan Arenado a solo shot in the seventh.
Juan Soto (43 homers, 38 steals), José Ramírez (30-44), Pete Crow-Armstrong (31-35), Corbin Carroll (31-32), Julio Rodríguez (32-30), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (31-31) and Francisco Lindor (31-31).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB