Mets 5 Brewers 0 (American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI)
Mets record: 88-72
Mets streak: Won 1
WP - David Peterson (10-3)
LP - Colin Rea (12-6)
Seat on the Korner:
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
The Mets needed David Peterson to pitch like an ace, and the lefty rose to the occasion: seven innings, one hit, eight strikeouts, no runs. Peterson ended the year 10-3 with a 2.90 ERA. Peterson's masterful peformance erased the bad taste of his last outing, the 12-2 loss to Philadelphia, and set himself up to open the LDS series on Saturday, if the Mets get that far. How does he view his season, which started late as he came back from a shoulder injury? And how does he feel about probably not pitching in a wild card series? Tune in.
Need to Know
With the Diamondbacks winning and the Braves losing, both Atlanta and the Mets need to win one of the games of the makeup doubleheader to eliminate Arizona and make the wild card round.
The starting pitchers for the doubleheader will be Luis Severino and Tylor Megill, but manager Carlos Mendoza would not disclose after the game who will pitch the first game.
The Brewers, who had nothing to play for, rested catcher William Contreras and first baseman Rhys Hopkins and pulled shortstop Willy Adames in the seventh. Brewers manager Pat Murphy also let starter Colin Rea pitch into the sixth, throwing 106 pitches, to save his bullpen for the wild card series.
Jose Iglesias went 2-for-5, extending his hitting streak to 20 games, the longest of his career and the longest of any Met in 2024. Iglesias is hitting .415 over that span: 32-77.
Manager Carlos Mendoza wore his uniform jersey, a rarity. In case you didn't know, his uniform number is 64.
The first game of the doubleheader starts at 1. SNY will carry both games.
Turning Point
Top of the fourth, Mets leading, 1-0. JD Matinez leads off with a double. Starling Marte sacrifices Martinez to third, and Francisco Alvarez singles to score Martinez. After a Tyrone Taylor single that advances Alvarez to third, Francisco Lindor singles to right, plating Alvarez and giving the Mets some breathing room. We call the Lindor single the turning point of the game; David Peterson continued to coast from there.
Playing with Energy and Daring
From the start the Mets, who had tense and were clearly outplayed during their three-game losing streak, were sharp and aggressive from the start. Francisco Lindor led off the game with a walk and stole second, scoring on Brandon Nimmo's single. Nimmo later stole second in the inning -- giving the Brewers a taste of their own medicine. The Mets played like they knew they had a job to do, and were confident they could do it.
Alvarez is back -- and so are Martinez and Lindor
Francisco Alvarez, erasing doubts about the state of his back, went 2-for-3, with two RBI -- a single and a sacrifice fly that put the game essentially out of reach. JD Martinez snapped his 0-for-35 streak with a fourth inning double and scored on Alvarez' single. It was Martinez' first hit in 20 days. Martinez would get a second hit, a single, in the ninth. And Francisco Lindor, playing like his back pain was not going to stop him, not only walked and stole a base in the first, but also stole another base and later homered to start the sixth. Lindor may not be 100 percent, but he once again showed why he is team leader.
Taking No Chances About Preserving the Win
Manager Carlos Mendoza, aware of the importance of the win, had Edwin Diaz warm up in the 8th as Phil Maton stated to look shaky, even though the Mets were up by five runs, and he brought Diaz in to seal the win in the ninth. It remains to be seen if Mendoza will regret that move on Monday. Diaz threw 26 pitches in striking out three and walking one. Last week, Diaz showed he could pitch effectively on consecutive days, but his career track record is not so good in that situation. Counterbalancing that is the fact that Diaz hadn't pitched in a week, so he isn't exactly overworked.
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