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In a regular season full of big moments, Francisco Lindor authored his biggest in game 161.  The Mets shortstop's two-run top of the 9th homer brought his club from behind in a wild-card clinching 8-7 victory over the Braves in the opener of Monday's makeup doubleheader.  
Three hours later, the Braves claimed the final spot in the NL playoffs.  Former Yankee Gio Urshela, one of the wave of Atlanta fill-ins making big contributions after Ronald Acuna Junior, Austin Riley and Michael Harris suffered season-ending injuries, put the Braves on the board with a 2nd inning RBI single.  Atlanta never looked back -- rolling to a 3-0 win.  The Braves get the Padres, while the Mets visit the Brewers in this week's Wild Card Series.

After five losing seasons in six years under Farhan Zaidi, the Giants have a new President of Baseball Operations.  Buster Posey, the star catcher on San Francisco's three Championship teams of the 2010s, will now oversee the front office, and try to close the gap with NL West rivals Los Angeles and San Diego -- both of whom are in the post-season.

Finally, the sad news that broke Monday evening: Pete Rose, who had more hits and played in more games than anyone in baseball's history — but whose lifetime ban for gambling on the sport kept him out of the Hall of Fame, has died at age 83.  As intense a player as we've seen -- could the nickname "Charlie Hustle" have been more perfect? -- the Cincinnati native first starred for his hometown Reds, helping lead them to World Series titles in 1975 and '76 before jumping to the Phillies, where he teamed with Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton on the franchise's first-ever championship.  That record 4256 hits is his signature, but soiled by defying the game's most sacred rule and a refusal to seek compromise or admit his mistakes.  Barred from most MLB-related activities the past 35 years, Pete made his living hustling on his image, selling autographs and, for a time running sports bars bearing his name.  But it was still an enforced exile from the game that fueled his soul. He was a singular talent done in by his arrogance and stubbornness.

I had the chance to cover him as "manager for the day" with the indy-ball Bridgeport Bluefish back in 2014.





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