Pete Alonso grabbed his lumber
And laid on the Brewers
A three-run number
When Francisco Lindor
Saw what Pete had done
He bettered Pete’s bomb
By a sum of one
That’s basically the story of how the Mets employed a Lizzie Borden-style attack in Milwaukee Tuesday night to hack their way to a 7-5 victory in the penultimate game of their series at Miller Park.
HOLD EVERYTHING! The Mets won the penultimate game of their series at Miller Park! Or whatever it’s called now. From 2009 through 2021, the Mets never won the second-to-last game in any series they played in their annual trip to Milwaukee. Never, as spelled out in this 2016 examination of the trend, and never, as confirmed in this 2021 update of the trend, revisited a year ago because this particular and peculiar string continued to defy snapping.
This year however, isn’t interested in what the Mets could never do before 2022. This year, the Mets consider what can be done and then, far more nights than not, they go ahead and do it. They come from behind; they beat the Brewers the night after clinching a postseason berth; they stay ahead of Atlanta for the postseason berth they want most; they win their sixth in a row; they obliterate the memory of being swept by the Cubs a week ago; they soar 40 games above .500 for the first time in 34 years; and they break the most obscure or at least most specific losing streak in North American team sports.
Happy yet? Provisionally even? Or did the glow from the cream soda with which you toasted the mathematical securing of no worse than Wild Card qualification Monday night wear off as Carlos Carrasco nearly drowned in a deluge of hops, barley and pure, high-quality water sourced from deep lakes, cold springs and ancient aquifers in the early innings Tuesday, particularly the second, when the Brewers posted three daunting runs on the No Longer Miller Park scoreboard? Perhaps the Mets really were hungover from their something slightly stronger than Dr. Brown’s-fueled celebration. Perhaps they were due for a Midwest, mid-evening nap. Perhaps all your anxieties were bound to surface after five consecutive nerve-quelling contests.
Oh, like your nerves were quelled by five wins in a row let alone a guaranteed playoff spot. If anything, heightened stakes heightens tension. I found myself rounding into postseason form as Tuesday’s game went along, which is to say I was utterly on edge and manufacturing dread with every pitch. Usually I wouldn’t wait for the pitch. Between pitches provided ample time to create worst-case situational scenarios all adding up to grim projections for the game at hand, for the season remaining, for the limited engagement to which we were condemning ourselves come October.
But then came Pete, with his three-run missile in the sixth, lopping the Brewers’ lead to 4-3, and then came Francisco, with his grand slam erasing their advantage by vaulting the Mets ahead, 7-4, in the seventh, and I could sit back.
And worry some more.
What, you thought seven runs in two innings, built on two blasts that capitalized on Brewer pitching placing runners on base, would calm a Mets fan in September? It wouldn’t calm a Mets fan in October, and suddenly October is a) officially a given; and b) approaching at Terrance Gore speed. A Mets fan wouldn’t be a Mets fan without rehearsing the worst and meaning it.
Thus, my apologies to Trevor May for all the miserable things I barked at you as you wriggled out of the seventh, and no hard feelings, I hope, regarding what I was thinking of you, Adam Ottavino, as you gave way to Edwin Diaz in the eighth. Once Diaz was on, I actually did relax. Well, once he got out of Ottavino’s eighth-inning contretemps that had cut the Mets’ lead to 7-5. I was more than a little antsy when Edwin missed with a slider to let Rowdy Tellez work his at-bat to one-and-two with the tying run on first and two out.
You think I’m kidding.
The bottom of the ninth served as the kind of sedative Joey Ramone would have treasured. Diaz threw eleven pitches. One was fouled off. One was grounded out. Everything else was a called or swinging strike, including the last six pitches Sugar delivered. We were fine and remain fine and will be fine until, of course, we are not.
That’s how a Mets fan negotiates the postseason. No point in waiting to drive yourself crazy.
This isn’t baseball. It’s Ali-Forman. Ali-Frazier. Tyson-Holyfield. Choose your opponents – 2022 has been a heavyweight battle between Mets – Braves with neither fighter willing to quit.
Greg, I did exactly what you describe last night. Just for a much smaller duration of time.
I was out with friends and sneaking looks at my phone. We come up and I see McNeil is batting 6th, even though 8-our 5-game winning streak started when Buck moved him up in the order. Seriously, you can look it up – 6-3 loss to the Cubs on September 14 he bats 6th, 7-1 win vs the Pirates September 15th he bats 3rd. Never mind if there really is any wisdom to getting the player with the highest OBP on the team to the plate more often but you’re gonna eff with karma like THAT?
Then after the top of the 1st I see Runs-0. Team LOB-3. I decided then and there I was going to enjoy my evening and put the phone away.
Imagine my surprise on getting home and deciding I had been emotionally bolstered enough by a great evening to muster the courage to see what sort of devastation had occurred. I see the score. And I see Team LOB-3.
I still think McNeil towards the top of the order and maximizing his propensity for getting on base would be better. But these days instead of my, “What sort of idiot move is this Mickey?” mutterance, I grumble, “Well, Buck knows what he’s doing.”
Never mind that even Callaway’s baseball knowledge almost certainly laps mine several times over. In Buck I (mostly) trust.
On another topic, we often gripe about trades that came back to bite us and we have had our share. Last night was a great reminder that yes, other teams suffer too. Can you imagine being a Brewers fan and having to view the devastation that is the Josh Hader for Taylor Rogers trade – and to a team you’re fighting with for a playoff spot no less? Yikes. Hader has a suck overall ERA for SD but that is mostly one game. He’s been racking up the saves, Rogers is racking up the home runs.
Now if the Braves would just lose but there is something about having a worthy adversary. We know both teams won’t win the season out. 9/30-10/2 guarantees that. I wouldn’t completely hate it if we got to that point without either team having another L though given the choice I’d like to be up 5 games. But that would sure highlight just how friggin’ GOOD both teams have been.
Living in the Greater Philadelphia area, I want to go up to Citizens Bank Park and poke the Phillies with a stick to get them to do something this weekend. At least split with the Braves to give up an opportunity at some darn breathing room. I much liked 2006 more where the division race was mostly decided by mid-July.
Time to move to “plan C” for righty DH? Buck at least gave Vientos more of a chance than many expected, and he has failed (one hit that would have been an out with no shift). Note: Alvarez 3-3 last night with a double and another HR. And he can catch a little. And takes a lot of walks. Can’t be worse than what we’ve got.
Here’s how I see it. A, we’re in the playoffs no matter what. And B, we’re going to face the Braves in the playoffs sooner or later anyway. Either that, or a team that knocked off the Braves, which is actually a little scarier. So meanwhile, I’m just going to enjoy the rest of the regular season, and I’ll worry about October in October, seedings be damned. (Of course, if you had said that to me last night when Cookie was crumbling, I would probably have had a different response.)
“they obliterate the memory of being swept by the Cubs a week ago”
Not yet. Based on the 2022 Mets formula of winning series but rarely sweeping, the extra win from sweeping the Pirates compensated for the Nationals series loss. It’ll take 2 more extra wins from 2 more sweeps to compensate for being swept by the Cubs. Sweeping the Brewers this afternoon would halve the Cubs deficit.
Six straight wins would have buried my memory of losing three straight to the Cubs if the Braves were contributing to the Mets magic number by losing like a normal good team. But the Braves aren’t helping the Mets balance the books on the Cubs losses.
Four hits. It seemed incredible but also predictable that the game after the Mets beat up the reigning NL Cy Young winner, they’d be hapless against who? pitchers again. The 2 family-sized home runs made up for the offense going back to sleep.
Carrasco did well to squeeze out 2 more innings on a night he didn’t have it. The middle relief bent but did well to not break. Rodriguez has looked reliable of late; if the threat of Peterson and maybe Lucchesi taking his job has focused Rodriguez, that works. May does not make me confident; he’s reminding me of Hansel Robles.
Diaz dominated the middle of the Brewers order in a close game where the Brewers looked ready to tie the score or worse. Lately he’s done his job without being dominant, so a return to form was a nice takeaway from the game. Diaz getting the hang of pitching across an up-down is like adding half a set-up man.
Ruf’s pinch-hit walk was useful. I wonder how many more ABs Vientos has left to audition for righty DH. No lightning in a bottle yet.
Canha is slumping. He’s best used as a fourth outfielder, not because he’s not good enough to play everyday but because his play suffers when he plays everyday. Marte’s return is needed so Canha can rest. Don’t forget he has a significant injury history. When Canha’s right, I want him up with RISP. Right now he’s not doing anything with them.
What impressed me most about Judge’s 60th home run is it happened in the Yankees’ 147th game. In 1961, a big deal was made of that Maris passed Ruth with the advantage of a 162 game schedule as opposed to 154. Alonso surpassed Judge’s rookie HR record, so he should set his sights on surpassing the standard Judge sets this season.