3 takeaways from Mets' NL Wild Card Series victory over Brewers
Mets' Pete Alonso celebrates with teammates after winning Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Milwaukee. Credit: AP/Morry Gash
MILWAUKEE — Here are a few takeaways from the aftermath of the Mets’ ridiculous 4-2, NL Wild Card Series-ending win over the Brewers. They advanced to an NL Division Series against the Phillies, which begins Saturday.
1. Heading into free agency, Pete Alonso’s Mets legacy is secure.
The noise heading into what could have been the last day of the Mets’ season and therefore perhaps Alonso’s final game with the Mets was loud.
He had slumped badly for several weeks, near the end of a season that has been not up to his standards. He tripped over his bat in a key moment in a loss Wednesday, then dropped a foul pop-up late Thursday. He had one hit, a soft single, in three games heading into the ninth inning of the clincher.
Then he did it. It happened. His three-run home run off Brewers closer Devin Williams revived the Mets’ season — again — and completely changed the tone surrounding Alonso before he tests the open market this offseason.
His moment was an instant all-timer. He authored another chapter in franchise lore.
“We talk about resiliency. We talk about never quitting, all that stuff. It’s cliche unless you do it,” said president of baseball David Stearns, who along with owner Steve Cohen will have to decide how much money and how many years to offer their first baseman. “We just saw one of the greatest games in Mets history.”
Brandon Nimmo said: “Sure enough, he was one swing away at the end there. And it came at the biggest time and most important time that we needed it.”
2. The Mets’ rotation is still holding up.
Jose Quintana (six scoreless innings) was great Thursday. Sean Manaea pitched well and could’ve gone deeper Wednesday. Luis Severino gutted out six innings Tuesday. Tylor Megill continued his strong run in the playoff berth clincher Monday in Atlanta. David Peterson hasn’t started recently, but he picked up the save Thursday and could be ready to pitch Sunday.
None are sexy, brand-name starters. They’re not, for example, Zack Wheeler, who will start Game 1 for the Phillies against his former team. But they have been very good for months now, part of why the Mets have a chance in just about every game they play.
3. The Phillies are next and that’s OK.
On paper, the Phillies look better than the Mets in realms such as hitting, starting pitching and relief pitching.
In the reality of October, sometimes none of that matters.
The Mets have this intangible — inexplicable — mojo going on right now. Even they can’t totally make sense of it. And at this time of year, that is the great equalizer
Relevantly, the Mets played well against the NL East champion Phillies on consecutive weekends in September, winning four of seven games (including three of four at Citi Field). They emerged victorious in the Wheeler/ Megill contest, which could be the Game 1 matchup. They finished 6-7 against Philly overall.
Also, for the Phillies, this will be a reversal of their past two postseasons. In 2022 and 2023, they were a wild-card team that won the first round and caught Atlanta in the NLDS — and beat the division champion both times. That invited questions about whether having a bye into the Division Series, by virtue of having a top-two record in the league, put a team at a disadvantage because it didn’t play for several days and maybe got rusty.
Citizens Bank Park should be rocking come 4 p.m. Saturday.
As Nimmo put it: “I mean, this is exactly what you want, right?”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
