For eight innings on Thursday evening, the New York Mets’ bats barely spoke above a whisper. Sadly for the Milwaukee Brewers, the ninth inning was the appeal in Sport 3, because the Mets loudly ended the Brew Crew’s 2024 season with a 4-2 win, largely because of a dramatic opposite-field homer from Pete Alonso.
The climactic motion might have concerned a trio of round-trippers, however for six innings, we received a basic pitchers’ duel between two starters with very totally different kinds. Starring for the Mets was Jose Quintana, who performed the artful veteran lefty trope to perfection right here, throwing leisurely fastballs and sinkers the place hitters might neither drive them or ignore them, whereas mixing in a wholesome dose of changeups and curves that threatened the filth.
ZiPS was a bit fearful about how Quintana matched up towards the Brewers coming into the sport; whereas he’s maintained sufficient of a reverse platoon break up over an extended profession to be assured in it, Milwaukee has quite a lot of right-handed hitters who could make a southpaw’s night disagreeable in a rush. However William Contreras and Rhys Hoskins went hitless, and finally it was the lefties who offered a lot of the workforce’s offense. It actually wasn’t from lack of making an attempt; Brewers hitters supplied at 60% of Quintana’s fastballs, together with greater than half of those thrown out of the zone. What’s extra, they linked with each Quintana fastball they swung at, however it solely resulted in two hits. Quintana didn’t throw a single fastball for a referred to as strike all night.
Tobias Myers took the alternative strategy. The place Quintana tried to baffle hitters, Myers determined to problem them, aggressively utilizing his fastball and daring the Mets to go together with its journey. Combining that backspin with additional velocity for the big day, Myers struck out 5 in 5 innings, permitting simply two hits. Matthew Trueblood beat me to the visible, so credit score the place credit score is due:
Tobias Myers is sitting 94.5 as a substitute of 92.5, and his common iVB is over 20″. Dude has the odor. @ByMcCullough Tobias Myers is a pitcher for the Brewers. pic.twitter.com/iCybCcfS1N
— Matthew Trueblood (@MATrueblood) October 4, 2024
Myers was pulled after 66 pitches, a choice largely in step with supervisor Pat Murphy’s M.O.; he has often had a fast hook with Myers, although the younger hurler was allowed to face the order a 3rd time by (or at the least start to) a number of occasions in September. Not like the fast hooks on pitchers like Blake Snell and José Berríos, which have change into infamous in sure circles, the one pitcher who struggled for the Brewers was the one everybody, traditionalist or in any other case, would have had within the recreation at that time. However let’s not skip forward fairly but…
The Brewers received three extra shutout innings from three relievers. First up was Trevor Megill, who did his common shtick: throw some 99 mph fastballs, then trigger batters to flail on a few knuckle-curves. Nick Mears, who was quietly picked up in July from the Rockies, continued to point out why you shouldn’t dismiss a participant whose peripherals abruptly enhance; he dispatched his assigned Mets within the seventh nearly as simply as Megill had an inning earlier. And since random bullpen cameos are a factor within the MLB Postseason Cinematic Universe, the Brewers’ Sport 1 starter, Freddy Peralta, got here in to throw a hitless inning within the eighth.
In the meantime, after six innings of Quintana, the Brewers fared higher towards José Buttó within the seventh. Whereas ZiPS isn’t actually a fan of Jake Bauers, it absolutely endorsed him pinch-hitting towards Buttó; the pc had him with a projected OPS (.864) almost 70 factors higher than Hoskins in the identical scenario (.796). A Buttó changeup tarried too lengthy within the strike zone, and Bauers put Milwaukee on the scoreboard in loud trend:
Jake Bauers with the fifth pinch-hit HR in a winner-take-all recreation, becoming a member of:
2020 NLCS G7 Enrique Hernández
2016 NLDS G5 Chris Heisey
2003 NLCS G7 Troy O’Leary
2001 ALDS G5 David JusticeBauers’ is the primary of these to provide his workforce a lead https://t.co/ZKFrlOtBAs
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 4, 2024
One pitch later, Sal Frelick dedicated offensive plagiarism, hitting his own residence run to proper subject to place the Brewers up 2-0:
SAL FRELICK GOES BACK-TO-BACK!!! #POSTSEASON pic.twitter.com/OqZMZYmRZ5
— MLB (@MLB) October 4, 2024
In a transfer I had blended emotions about on the time — and nonetheless do — the Mets introduced in nearer Edwin Díaz to close issues down. On an emotional stage, I completely get it; issues abruptly seemed appreciated they have been getting uncontrolled, and Díaz is one of the best reliever the Mets must play the disciplinarian instructor who has to intervene when the substitute instructor is overwhelmed. As an analyst, I’m simply undecided it was the correct transfer. Whereas this was a must-win recreation for the Mets, and so they needed to stop additional scoring, the bases being empty lowered the temperature of the scenario significantly. I like closers getting used aggressively, however on this case, I ponder if there was nonetheless sufficient time left to save lots of Díaz for a “hotter” scenario. I might very simply be satisfied I’m fallacious.
In any case, Díaz ended up turning up the thermostat. He seemed a bit just like the Retro Coronary heart Assault-Inducing Mariners Díaz, strolling Brice Turang and Blake Perkins in a bout of sudden wildness. A Contreras whiff salvaged the scenario, however issues have been on the precipice of ugliness.
The temper of Mets followers on Twitter — and presumably elsewhere that I couldn’t see — was fairly glum at this level, and Peralta’s hitless eighth inning didn’t assist. However issues have been about to take a flip.
Devin Williams got here in to shut issues out within the ninth, a quest that received off to a poor begin when he had hassle ending off Francisco Lindor; Lindor labored a 1-2 depend right into a stroll because of some fouls and a refusal to chunk on three pitches off the sting of the zone. Williams appeared to have righted the ship with a fast Mark Vientos strikeout, however a Brandon Nimmo single arrange a first-and-third scenario for Alonso, exactly the hitter the Mets would have needed up in that scenario if they might have chosen. With the depend 3-1, Williams left his changeup simply too near Alonso’s bat, and the Polar Bear hit arguably the loudest dwelling run of his profession within the quietest method, slightly reverse subject 363-footer that was nonetheless large enough to crush the goals of a complete metropolis:
Pete Alonso. CLUTCH.#Postseason | #LGM
— MLB Community (@MLBNetwork) October 4, 2024
And the ache wasn’t fairly over for Brewers followers. After a Jose Iglesias groundout, Jesse Winker received hit by his second pitch of the evening. He sought revenge by stealing second and after a Starling Marte single that drove him dwelling as an insurance coverage run, he spiked his helmet in what may need been the toughest thrown pitch of the night:
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? I AM! #POSTSEASON pic.twitter.com/RLE4C4zrfe
— MLB (@MLB) October 4, 2024
Milwaukee’s final probability was anti-climactic. Frelick led off the inning with a single, however after David Peterson struck out Joey Ortiz, Turang grounded right into a season-ending double play.
And with that, the final of the 4 divisional sequence matchups is about. The Mets now head to Philadelphia to face off with the well-rested NL East champions.
