The MLB Wild Card and Playoffs are here.

The best-of-three Wild Card Series will be played on three consecutive days. There is no off-day within the series. There are no off days between Games 4 and 5 of the LDS, or between Games 5 and 6 of the LCS.

MLB’s first-ever wild-card series weekend is in full swing. And three teams were sent packing Saturday. The playoff field expanded to 12 teams for the 2022 postseason, so four best-of-three series determine which teams move on to the division series.

One-hundred-and-one victories didn’t get the Mets a National League East title. And as it turned out, nor did it grant them immunity from an early exit to the postseason. 

The cracks in the Mets that seemed most pronounced in the final weeks of the regular season conspired Sunday night, ending the team’s season with a 6-0 loss to the Padres in Game 3 of the wild-card series before a non-sellout of 39,241 at Citi Field. 

Joe Musgrove manhandled the Mets with seven shutout innings. The Mets managed all of one hit and two base runners in the defeat. The franchise’s World Series title drought is extended to 36 seasons. 

“This is a kick in the balls,” Max Scherzer said. 

If Scherzer’s poor performance in Game 1, when he allowed seven earned runs, wasn’t enough, the Mets got a clunker to close the season from Chris Bassitt, who had control problems. 

The Giants have shown remarkable grit and determination this season. They took that fighting spirit overseas to London and showed an international audience — and the Packers, from Green Bay, Wisc. — that this is a new and quite improved Giants operation.

The Giants trailed 17-3 in the second quarter and 20-10 at halftime against Aaron Rodgers and it looked as if this would not be a fruitful  trip across the pond for coach Brian Daboll’s club. What transpired in the second half was stunning. The Giants on defense pitched a shutout. Daniel Jones gutted out yards and points. Saquon Barkley was forced out with a shoulder injury and returned.

Barkley scored the game-winning touchdown with 6:08 remaining and then turned the game over to their largely no-name defense. Rodgers moved the Packers to the Giants’ 7 yard line but on fourth down his pass was deflected up and into the air by blitzing safety Xavier McKinney. The ball fell harmlessly to the grass at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with 1:11 remaining and soon after the Giants secured an improbable 27-22 comeback victory.

Barkley ran 13 times for 70 yards. Jones, playing despite a sprained left ankle, was incredibly resilient. He completed 21 of 27 passes for 217 yards and ran 10 times for 37 yards. The Giants limited the damage and Rodgers was held scoreless in the second half.