On October 3rd, the Mets played against the Milwaukee Brewers in a Do-or-Die game. It was the final game of the three-game National League Wild Card series, in which the Mets won the first game and the Brewers won the second game. Whoever wins the final game would move on to the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The game started with Mets starting pitcher Jose Quintana, and Brewers starting pitcher Tobias Meyers. The score was 0 – 0 through the 6th inning. Quintana was taken out of the game, and Jose Butto was put in in the 7th. Jake Bauers came up to bat as a Pinch hitter, and hit a single run home run, breaking the tied score. The following hitter was Sal Frelick, and on back-to-back pitches, he hit another single-run home run.
Butto faced one other batter, due to the rule where pitchers must face 3 hitters, and was replaced by the Mets closing pitcher, Edwin Diaz. In the regular season, Butto has an ERA of 3.38, so bringing him out in the playoff game seemed like a good option. However, due to him blowing his relief position, out of the bullpen, Diaz was the Mets’ best option. Diaz would go on to finish the 7th and 8th innings, giving up no runs.
The Mets were now down 2 – 0, all into the 9th inning. The brewers brought up their best closer, Devin Williams, who went into the game with a 1.25 ERA. In the entire game, the only Mets hits were from Francisco Lindor. In the 9th inning, the beginning half of the Mets starting lineup was up: Lindor, Mark Vientos, Brandon Nimmo, and if all went well, Pete Alonso. Both Lindor and Nimmo reached base, Lindor off a walk, and Nimmo off a hit. Now up to bat was Pete Alonso, the power hitter of the Mets lineup. Alonso was 0 for 3, and with him being a free agent at the end of this year, this could have been his last hit as a Met player.
All pressure was on Alonso, if he got this hit, the Mets would move on, if he struck out, the Mets’ postseason would be officially over. It was a 3 – 1 pitch, and Pete Alonso struck the ball, and immediately knew he did it. The ball flew over the field, over the fence; it was a three-run home run for Pete Alonso, giving the Mets’ the lead. Alonso ran the bases, screaming in excitement, and the Mets dugout went running out ready to celebrate. Pete Alonso made history with this home run, as he became the first player to hit a go-ahead home run while losing in the 9th inning or later of a winner-take-all postseason game.
Devin Williams, still out in the 9th, then faces Jesse Winker. In the previous game, Winker got into an altercation with Brewers member, and former teammate of his, Willy Adames, after Winker hit a triple. Winker was shouting at his dugout and then started shouting at Adames. This was because the catcher swept the ground while Winker was at bat, in an attempt to distract him. However, Winker noticed this tactic, did the opposite, and hit his triple. Winker came up to bat in the final game, with a roar of boos from the crowd, and got hit-by-pitch, for the second time in the game.
Winker, now on first base, runs and stole second. Immediately causing a lot of uproar from the Milwaukee crowd. Then up came Starling Marte, and he hit an RBI single, bringing home Winker. Winker then crosses home plate, removes his helmet, and slams it into the ground. He threw it down so hard, he broke his own helmet. The Mets are now up 4 – 2.
The game goes into the bottom of the 9th, and since the Mets already used their closer, Diaz, they bring up their starter pitcher, David Peterson. This was clearly done because the Mets have a lack of faith in their bullpen. Peterson was in fact successful, only giving up one hit and the final at-bat was hit into a double play, and the Mets took the win.
All thanks to the ground-breaking historical home run-off of Pete Alonso, the Mets will be moving on. The Brewers season comes to an end, and the Mets will now be going on to the NLDS against the Phillies, in the 5 game series. The other division series consists of the Los Angeles Dodgers facing the San Diego Padres. Whoever wins each series will go on to face each other, and the winner will go to the World Series.
