Mascherano, 40, is a former teammate of Miami star Lionel Messi. The two were teammates at FC Barcelona from 2010-18.
Miami had won the regular season campaign with a record points total but after losing twice in the best-of-three series, the MLS Cup favourites and their eight-times Ballon d'Or winner are out.
Portuguese winger Xande Silva blasted home a sensational winner for Atlanta in the fourth minute of stoppage time in front of 68,455 home fans at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to level the best-of-three postseason series 1-1 and set up a winner-take-all game three in Miami next Saturday.
Miami started with all their big-name stars, including Lionel Messi, on the bench but the Argentine was introduced in the 61st minute to the delight of many in the Toronto crowd.
Messi had been subdued until the 45th minute when he put Inter ahead -- chesting down a long ball into the box and getting a lucky bounce off Crew defender Malte Amundsen before poking home.
Messi tied Saturday's match in the 67th minute when he lasered a shot from beyond the box that evaded diving Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina to make it 1-1.
Inter Miami's charge towards Major League Soccer's single-season points record suffered a setback on Saturday after a last-gasp injury-time equalizer from James Sands snatched a 1-1 draw for New York City FC against the Eastern Conference leaders.
The Argentinian superstar Messi came close to a game-clinching goal in the 83rd, but his angled effort was blocked by Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan and Suarez's attempt to tap in the rebound was also denied.
The eight-times Ballon d'Or winner hadn't played since injuring his right ankle during the Copa America final on July 14, when he helped Argentina to victory over Colombia.
Miami has one more match before introducing the global soccer superstar, scheduled for Saturday against host St. Louis City in a matchup between the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the best in the West.
Lionel Messi hasn't been formally introduced as an Inter Miami CF player yet but his fans in the United States have wasted no time introducing themselves to him.
Since singing with the Florida club last month, the Argentine superstar has lit up anticipation around both the team and US professional soccer at large, especially among Miami's many South American residents
Argentine star Lionel Messi landed in Florida on Tuesday ahead of putting the final touches on his move to US Major League Soccer club Inter Miami.
Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami is a major coup for the club and his arrival in the United States is surely to generate a lot of excitement and attention.
Lionel Messi's next club, Inter Miami, announced Friday it will hold a presentation event, called 'The Unveil', on July 16 at its home stadium.
Martino, former coach of Messi with Barcelona and Argentina, said he had spoken to the seven-times Ballon d'Or winner and former Spain midfielder Busquets about their impending move to the Major League Soccer club
Martino, widely known as "Tata," coached Messi with both the Spanish club and his country's national team. He was most recently in charge of Mexico and previously worked in MLS with Atlanta United, winning the title in 2018
How his Inter Miami move might shape the future football’s business side
Busquets said in May that he would leave Barcelona in the summer at the end of his contract
