Max Scherzer, Francisco Lindor, David Peterson spearhead sweep of Atlanta

He craves games like these, feeds off them, lives for and makes a darn good living from them — the postseason and the postseason-like, with the big crowds and the bright lights and the whiff of October, even if you can’t tell by this heat and humidity. 

So although it could not have been less surprising that Max Scherzer came up huge, again, Saturday night to push the Mets to a doubleheader sweep of Atlanta, it nonetheless was a masterpiece. In a 6-2 nightcap win, he struck out 11 and walked none across seven shutout innings. That came after David Peterson, in an 8-5 victory in the opener, held Atlanta scoreless for 5 1/3 frames. 

The Mets, doing almost everything well for upwards of 12 hours at the ballpark, improved to 69-39 and boosted their lead in the NL East back to 5 1/2 games over second-place Atlanta, their largest margin since June 21. It was perhaps the biggest day yet in a season that is poised to have more contenders for that unofficial title. 

Scherzer (8-2) worked around the smallest bits of trouble, scattering four hits. Travis d’Arnaud doubled with two outs in the second but was stranded there. Matt Olson singled with one out in the fourth but did not advance. D’Arnaud doubled again to lead off the fifth, and Michael Harris II lined a single off Scherzer to put runners on the corners. But Luis Guillorme’s daring throw home on a grounder by Ehire Adrianza to get d’Arnaud kept Atlanta (64-45) off the board. 

Finishing with a flourish, Scherzer struck out the side — Eddie Rosario, William Contreras, Marcell Ozuna — in the seventh as his pitch count climbed to a season-high 108. 

Scherzer’s ERA is 1.98. He has never had a lower mark over a full season. 

The milestones keep coming, too. He tied Justin Verlander, his former Tigers teammate, for 14th on the all-time strikeout list with 3,140. With his 109th double-digit strikeout game, he passed Pedro Martinez for fourth, closing in on Roger Clemens (110). And he picked up the 199th win of his career, third among active pitchers. 

Pete Alonso went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored to highlight the Mets’ offensive effort. They reached lefthander Max Fried (10-4) for four runs (two earned) in six innings. 

In the opener, Francisco Lindor went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored, having a hand in all four of the team’s rallies and even snuffing out one of Atlanta’s. 

His RBI total is up to 77. That is four shy of the franchise shortstop record, held by Jose Reyes, who had 81 in 2006. Lindor’s average is .267, up from .248 at the All-Star break. 

“It’s like you’re mining for gold,” manager Buck Showalter said. “You take a piece of gold, you put it over there. You take the rock, you put it over here. And you sift some more. When you get enough nuggets, you get to play in October. Lindor is a nugget.” 

The nugget’s knocks lately have underscored his strong season. Lindor was hitting .429 with a .500 OBP and .714 slugging percentage in his previous 13 games entering the nightcap. He also had scored in nine consecutive games. 

When the Mets plated a pair off righthander Jake Odorizzi (three runs, 4 2/3 innings) in the first inning, Lindor was there, scoring on Daniel Vogelbach’s single. When the Mets added another in the third, Lindor was there again, scoring on Jeff McNeil’s two-out single. 

When the Mets sought to expand on their lead in the sixth, they did so because of Lindor, who crushed a two-run double off the tippity top of the centerfield wall. And when the Mets rallied for another three runs in the seventh, Lindor drove in the last, with a sacrifice fly to deep center. 

But none of those were what most pleased Lindor. He preferred to highlight his fielding, including initiating a key double play in the fourth. Peterson (6-2) was teetering, putting runners on the corners with one out. Orlando Arcia sent a ground ball deep to the shortstop hole. Lindor made a backhanded stop and fired to second. McNeil made the clean turn and throw to first to end the inning, preventing a run from scoring. 

“Petey seemed like he couldn’t locate that inning,” Lindor said. “He made a good pitch, got out of it with a double play. That to me is the most satisfying. Obviously, I like driving in runs and I like scoring. Whatever I do to help the team win, that’s what I’m all about. But I like defense. Defense is my thing.”