Ready as always, the Mets pounce on the Brewers in Game 1

MILWAUKEE — Over the last few months, as the schedule and standings challenged the New York Mets, manager Carlos Mendoza developed a simple mantra.

“We will be ready.”

Play in seven street towns in a month? We will be ready. Did you have two rainouts and a season-ending doubleheader last week to qualify for the postseason? We will be ready. Is there an unprecedented turnaround from this doubleheader to a true playoff series?

Mendoza was all smiles after an 8-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 on Tuesday.

“We were ready to go,” he said. “It showed.”

The Mets were ready for a first pitch, which came 22 1/2 hours after they uncorked prosecco and doused each other with Coors Light, in a city in a time zone and 800 miles away. They were ready despite another early deficit, and Mendoza didn’t panic as Luis Severino spent the first four innings walking a tightrope through Milwaukee traffic on the bases. And they were ready to attack when a quick managerial attack and sloppy Brewers defense opened the door in the fifth inning.

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The Mets pitched another big inning and it was their staff that silenced the bats in the second half of the game.

The Mets lead this best-of-three 1-0.

— Tim Britton (@TimBritton) October 2, 2024

That puts them one win away from a game in the Division Series with the Philadelphia Phillies.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Mark Vientos said after his postseason debut with two hits and two RBI. “It’s hard to be tired when you’re playing playoff baseball.”

New York’s first road playoff win since it celebrated a pennant 90 minutes south of here nine years ago was fueled by a five-run fifth inning. With a 4-3 lead, Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy aggressively and unexpectedly pulled starter Freddy Peralta after four innings and 68 pitches.

Just like Monday’s decisive win over the Atlanta Braves, a big rally started with a double by Tyrone Taylor – even though that double should have been caught by Milwaukee wunderkind Jackson Chourio in left field. With two on and two outs, Jose Iglesias’ hard grounder was snatched first by Rhys Hoskins. But Iglesias, who smells base hits like a shark smells blood, beat pitcher Joel Payamps with a headfirst skid to the bag. Taylor never hesitated around third and scored the decisive run.

“He’s such a player,” Brandon Nimmo marveled about Iglesias. “He plays with so much heart and passion.”

Nimmo followed with an infield single to lefty Aaron Ashby to load the bases before Vientos and JD Martinez came through with two two-run singles the other way. Thanks to Iglesias’ commitment, a zero became a five, a deficit became a lead and the game was a breeze for New York’s pitching staff.

“You never know which shot, which play will be the right one one“ said Nimmo. “That’s why you have to send it every time. Your chance could be the right one.”

The Mets have made a habit of pitching innings against their opponents lately. This wasn’t something the offense did early in the season. New York scored five or more runs in an inning as recently as June 5 – its 561st offensive inning of the season – and only six times in the first half of the season.

The Mets have done this six times in the last 19 games – and twice in the last two days.

“It’s about passing the baton,” said Jesse Winker, whose two-run triple in the second inning belied the Brewers’ two runs in the first inning. “No one tries to be the hero. We try to draft and train quality batsmen.”

“I’m really proud of our ability to take these games and take these offenses one shot at a time,” Nimmo said. “Just keep doing what we’ve been doing all year: make a plan, trust your preparation and do your best.”

The Mets can consider whether this offense might be better equipped to do damage in October than the offense that actually scored more runs in 2022, given its versatility and ability to get the ball over the fence.

“We can beat you in a lot of different ways,” Mendoza said. “We have guys who can get on base, we have guys who can hit the ball out of the ballpark, but we also have the ability to put the ball in play when we need it and use the entire field “If I have to.” That’s what happened today.”

“We knew we had to do the little things right to win games if we were going to make the postseason,” Francisco Lindor said.

In eight previous Wild Card series, the winner of Game 1 always advanced to the next round. Only the 2022 Mets even forced a Game 3 after losing the opener. Sean Manaea faces Frankie Montas in Game 2.

You can rely on one thing.

“We have to be ready,” Mendoza said after Tuesday’s win, “to do it again.”

(Photo by Ryne Stanek: John Fisher/Getty Images)