Mets want to search out extra magic but once more with season on the brink

MILWAUKEE — These Mets appear to come back by after they completely must, and as soon as once more, they’re at that scary level. 

The Mets authored some very large wins all through a principally magical yr. However now they lastly have a sport that may solely be known as a must-win. 

Technically, they wanted all 89 of their common season victories to punch their ticket to October. However they face their very very first elimination sport Thursday. A deciding winner-take-all Recreation 3 on this wild-card collection is upon us, made needed after the Mets blew a late lead and misplaced 5-3 right here Wednesday. 

“We’ve been knocked down. And we’ve got the power to get proper again up,” Mets supervisor Carlos Mendoza mentioned. “And right here we’re.” 

It isn’t going to be simple. 

The Brewers have rather a lot going for them, and now they’ve momentum, too. They outplayed the Mets within the standings and on the sector all through this season, beating them 5 video games out of six, however this collection was wanting rather a lot totally different initially. 

The Mets really outperformed the Brewers the primary 16 innings of this collection, successful Recreation 1 and main into the eighth inning of Recreation 2. Nonetheless, the Brewers evened this collection late, due to eighth-inning residence runs by 20-year-old rookie Jackson Chourio (his second of the night time) and Garrett Mitchell off reliever Phil Maton. 

Mendoza mentioned afterward he did have star nearer Edwin Diaz obtainable. However he solely had him for an inning, at most. So Maton, who has thrown stable baseball since coming to the Mets in mid-July, obtained the ball for the eighth. 

When Maton entered, the Mets held a one-run lead and have been so near arranging their journey to Philly for the Division Collection with the Phillies. They have been prepared to alter out cheese land for cheesesteaks. 

What’s extra, they have been beating the Brewers at their very own sport, outplaying them on protection and on the basepaths. 

However in the end, the Brewers overwhelmed the Mets with the lengthy ball. 

The Mets made a whole lot of magic this yr. That is the time for some extra of that. 

They got here again from their 0-5 begin to the season and a dreadful early Could that left them at 22-33. They lastly earned their playoff berth on the day after the ultimate recurrently scheduled day of the season, technically sport No. 161. There was no room to spare, and so they survived in Atlanta, traditionally their city of terror. 

That they obtained to October by defeating their demons and successful a sport of their least favourite place down south speaks properly for them. Now they should do it in what could be their second-least favourite place. 

There’s no panic on this Mets crew. There can’t be any now. 

They got here again so many instances, even on this journey which could have killed off a lesser bunch. Their journey began with a defeat at Atlanta earlier than they misplaced two video games to Hurricane Helene. (Finally, that will have helped them since they have been delayed till the top of the common season, that means a break up triggered a uncommon twin celebration.) 

There have been comebacks to come back. Recreation No. 161 was a basic. 

They got here again twice in that one. After a bullpen blowup by Diaz, they needed to do it a second time. That point it was their MVP, Francisco Lindor, the star of the season, who supplied the magic. 

His two-run residence run into the Atlanta night time could have been the most important within the 63-year historical past of the franchise. Lindor’s drive additionally put a punctuation mark on a season for the ages. They hope that’s solely a contented comma in a seamless season, that an exclamation level is but to come back. 

The Mets performed a whole lot of video games that appeared like must-win video games. And technically, all of them have been, as they solely made it to October by way of the tiebreaker, which was their 4-2 collection file versus the Diamondbacks. However this one completely is. 

“I’m excited for the problem,” Pete Alonso mentioned. “That is what it’s about.” 

There are a whole lot of optimistic indicators. They’re perpetually calm. 

They’re the identical, win or lose. They confirmed no panic all yr. There’s no cause to suppose they’ll now. However there’s loads of cause to fret, too, and it begins with the bullpen that’s brought on some severe agita at instances. 

Simply as worrisome, Diaz could not have a lot left. When Recreation 2 was tied up by Chourio’s opposite-field bomb, Diaz wasn’t warming. Adam Ottavino was. 

Diaz threw 66 pitches Sunday and Monday, and whereas the Mets mentioned Diaz was able to go, apparently it was solely barely. 

“He was obtainable,” Mendoza mentioned. “We simply didn’t get to him.” 

However even when Diaz is prepared Thursday for the deciding sport, who is aware of what they’ll get? 

He didn’t look significantly stable in Recreation 1 Monday when he wanted to attempt to keep a lead twice, and eventually did. 

He insisted to Mendoza he was staying in after Lindor hit his fateful homer. And so he did. However does he have any bullets left now? 

Do the Mets? 

We are going to discover out Thursday.