The New York Mets are heading to the NLDS. Thursday night, the Mets eliminated the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series (NYM 4, MIL 2) with a stunning ninth-inning comeback that saw Pete Alonso hit a game-winning, three-run home run against All-Star closer Devin Williams. New York will face the NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. This is the Mets’ first postseason series win since the 2015 NLCS.
Here is the final out (the final two outs, really) of the final game of this year’s Wild Card Series:
Game 3 was a thrilling pitchers’ duel and only the fourth time a winner-take-all postseason game was scoreless through six innings, joining the 2016 NL Wild Card Game, Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, and Game 7 of the 1968 World Series. It become a battle of the bullpens and both bullpen had hiccups, but the Mets prevailed in the end.
Here are four takeaways from New York’s win in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series.
Pete Alonso had his moment
As good as he was this season — 34 homers and a .788 OPS — Mets slugger Pete Alonso never really had a big moment for a team that seemed to have a new biggest moment every week. His moment finally arrived in Game 3. Alonso slugged a go-ahead three-run homer against Williams in the ninth inning Thursday. Alonso knew it as soon as hit it:
That snapped a 15-inning scoreless streak for the Mets dating back to the third inning of Game 2. It was also only the second home run Williams allowed all season, though he did not make his 2024 debut until July 28 because of a back injury. Still, Williams has never been especially home run prone, then Alonso got him in the ninth inning of a winner-take-all postseason game.
With one swing, Alonso went from taking what might’ve been his final at-bat as a Met — he will be a free agent this offseason — to having his signature moment for the Amazin’s. Going into Alonso’s at-bat, Milwaukee’s win probability sat at a healthy 82.5%. Then just like that, it was 82.2% in favor of the Mets. One of the biggest swings of the season, truly.
New York added an important insurance run later in the winning when Jesse Winker got hit by a pitch, stole second base, then scored on Starling Marte’s two-out single. David Peterson, who has been in the rotation all year, came out of the bullpen to get his first career save. In what seemed like an instant, the Mets punched their ticket to the NLDS and the Brewers were sent packing.
Quintana shut the Brewers down again
Brewers rookie Tobias Myers was great and Jose Quintana was every bit as good. The Mets’ southpaw struck out five in six scoreless innings. He has been a thorn in the side of the Brewers his entire career. In 23 career games against Milwaukee, he has a 2.98 ERA and held hitters to a .627 OPS. That is in the not small sample of 130 innings, though most came during his time with the NL Central rival Cubs from 2017-20.
History with the Brewers aside, Quintana finished the regular season exceptionally well, pitching to a 0.74 ERA in his final six starts. Four of those six starts were scoreless and he allowed two runs in each of the other two. The Mets may not have a bona fide ace — Sean Manaea has pitched at an ace level at times this year — but they have four really good starters. Every night they run a quality arm out there. Quintana more than did his job in Game 3.
Myers was terrific (and on a short leash)
Myers, who is perhaps best known for being the minor-league pitcher the Rays traded for Junior Caminero years ago, drew the Game 3 start for the Brewers and was dynamite. A single, a double, and a hit by pitch was all he allowed in five shutout innings. He struck out five and the Mets missed with 32% of their swings against his fastball, an astronomical rate.
The Brewers kept Myers on a pretty tight leash in the regular season, allowing him to face more than 20 batters only 12 times in his 25 starts, and they stuck to the plan in Game 3. He was pulled after facing 18 batters (exactly two times through the order) despite throwing only 66 pitches. It certainly seemed like Myers had more left in the tank, but five innings was all he got.
For what it’s worth, opponents hit Myers awfully hard the third time through the lineup during the regular season. He held hitters to a .225/.279/.364 line the first two times through the lineup, then they tagged him for a .319/.369/.489 line thereafter. Myers pitched like an ace the first two times through, and hitters turn into an All-Star the third time around.
Only a handful of teams allowed their pitchers to face fewer batters the third (and fourth) time through the order during the regular season than the Brewers. This is what they do. They get the most out of their pitches by limited how often opposing hitters see him, and the Brewers certainly got great work out of Myers in Game 3. He was fantastic.
New York’s bullpen cracked first
You think the Brewers were happy to see Quintana out of the game? The Mets went to righty José Buttó, who has been really good for them since moving into the bullpen, to begin the seventh inning, and Jake Bauers and Sal Frelick greeted him with back-to-back home runs. Back-to-back pitches too:
The Brewers finished sixth in runs per game during the regular season, though they were only 17th in home runs. They typically generate offense with speed. In fact, Frelick hit only two home runs all year: May 14 and 15. He went deep on back-to-back days and not at all the rest of the season. Frelick picked a pretty good time for his third homer of 2024.
The back-to-back homers gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead, and after Buttó faced the requisite three batters, he was out of the game. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza went to Edwin Díaz, his closer and best reliever, in the seventh inning to keep the game close. That move might get overlooked, but it was imperative. Díaz kept the Brewers off the board in the seventh and eighth innings, and gave the offense a chance to come back in the ninth.
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