MILWAUKEE — Max Scherzer was pulled from his 200th win with a perfect game intact, and the New York Mets clinched their first playoff berth in six years by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 7-2 on Monday night.
Reinstated from the injured list before the game, Scherzer (10-4) struck out nine in six innings. The 38-year-old ace threw only 68 pitches, but that was as far as the NL East leaders let him go in his first start in 16 days.
It was Scherzer’s fourth career perfect-game bid through six innings, tied for the most in the expansion era (since 1961).
Christian Yelich doubled leading off the seventh against Tylor Megill, making his first major league relief appearance after 27 starts. Megill also came off the injured list Monday.
There have now been 3,687 days without a perfect game in the majors, the longest span since a 13-year drought from 1968-81 (4,755 days). Félix Hernández was the last to throw one, on Aug. 15, 2012.
Pete Alonso hit a three-run homer off reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes (10-8), and the Mets won their fifth straight to wrap up at least one of the three National League wild cards. They lead the NL East by one game over defending World Series champion Atlanta, which beat Washington 5-2 at home.
It is the 10th postseason appearance in the franchise’s 61-season history, and first since the Mets lost to San Francisco in the 2016 NL wild-card game.
Information from ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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