Not so Fast

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The three-team race for the last two National League playoff berths will be decided Monday in a hurricane-delayed double-header between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves.

The Mets and Braves lead the hunt while the Arizona Diamondbacks kept themselves in contention with a victory in their final regular-season game on Sunday.

The Diamondbacks will only be able to watch as their rivals clash in two games postponed from Wednesday and Thursday because of the approach of Hurricane Helene.

The delayed games mean San Diego’s Luis Arraez will have to wait to officially celebrate his National League (NL) batting title, which denied Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani the National League triple crown of most home runs, most runs-batted-in and best batting average.

Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna, like Ohtani, came into the weekend with a chance to catch Arraez for the best batting average in the NL.

But even with the Braves’ makeup games to come, Arraez appeared to have locked up the honor after a sixth-inning double in the Padres’ 11-2 loss to the Diamondbacks, which gave him a .314 batting average for the season.

It’s his third batting title in three seasons after he claimed it in 2022 with Minnesota and in 2023 with Miami.

The 27-year-old is the first player to win the title with three different teams.

Ohtani indeed led the NL with 54 homers and in RBIs with 131, but after going 1-for-4 in the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory over the Rockies, he finished the season with a .310 batting average.

“I didn’t even think about the triple crown,” Ohtani said through a translator. 

“I wasn’t aware of how close or far I was from it.”

The last MLB player to nab a triple crown was Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera in 2012. The treble hasn’t been achieved in the National League since St. Louis’ Joe Medwick did it in 1937.

But Ohtani heads into the first post-season of his career with plenty to celebrate — notably the establishment of the 50-homer, 50-stolen base club.

“You’ve seen a superstar,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in comments posted on MLB.com. 

“I think the thing that I marvel at is the expectations that are put on him, that he puts on himself, and to still go out there every day and put on a show.”

The Dodgers will be resting up for the start of the NL division series as the Braves and Mets settle the last of the NL seedings on Monday.

Francisco Lindor homered and drove in two runs and David Peterson pitched seven strong innings for the Mets in a 5-0 victory over the Brewers in Milwaukee on Sunday.

Francisco Alvarez also drove in two runs for New York, who can secure a wild card berth with a win in one of two games in Atlanta.

The Braves whiffed on a chance to lock up a playoff spot on Sunday, falling to the playoff-bound Kansas City Royals 4-2.

With the same 88-72 record as the Mets, the Braves also need just one win on Monday to secure a berth.

If either team sweeps, that team will advance along with the Diamondbacks.