MILWAUKEE — Less than 24 hours after Steve Cohen marveled at the resiliency of his baseball team, the Mets proved once again that the word quit is not in their collective vocabulary.
Call it momentum or call it grit, but whatever it was, it led to an 8-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in the first game of the postseason Tuesday at American Family Field. The Mets had the last laugh in a back-and-forth NL Wild Card battle, answering back every time the Brewers scored before putting the game away with a five-run fifth inning.
Right-hander Luis Severino twice gave up leads and got into trouble with his pitch count early in the game before settling in to give the Mets six innings. After giving up two runs in the bottom of the fourth to leave the Mets down by one run, 4-3, it looked as though he was done with the bullpen busy and little room for error.
But after the five-run fifth, the Mets were able to squeeze two more innings out of the veteran. Severino was charged with four earned runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out three. He retired his final six in order to save a bullpen that has been heavy on innings as of late.
The Brewers were rested after Monday’s off-day and had their ace on the mound, right-hander Freddy Peralta, ready to fire up the home crowd, which is exactly what he did with a 1-2-3 first inning.
Severino was also rested, having last pitched a week ago in Atlanta against the Braves. He was shaky in that outing and shaky at the start of this one as well, giving up a run to Milwaukee before getting the first out, and hitting Rhys Hoskins with two outs and the bases loaded to give up a second one. He needed 24 pitches to get through the first inning, but he managed to strand two to end it.
Peralta put the first two on in the top of the second to bring up Jesse Winker, a former Brewer who drew the ire of the fanbase by hitting just .199 in 61 games last season. Winker was booed all weekend when the Mets played their final regular season series in the same park. But booing Winker only seems to embolden him.
He battled Peralta for seven pitches before getting a changeup on a full count for the eighth and lining it to right field for a two-run triple. The Mets went ahead 3-2.
Severino then battled traffic on the bases in the second and third innings, but ultimately held the lead until the fourth. Brice Turang, who killed the Mets all weekend, tied the game with an infield single. Jackson Chourio doubled him home to give the home team a 4-3 lead.
But then the Brewers went to the bullpen, replacing Peralta after three earned runs and five strikeouts over four innings. Joel Payamps was hit hard right away with Chourio robbing Starling Marte of a home run at the left field wall.
Former Brewers outfielder Tyrone Taylor then doubled to spark a rally. With one out, Francisco Lindor walked and Jose Iglesias sent Taylor home with what might have been the most clutch hustle play of the day. Iglesias sent a hard grounder to first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who was playing in the gap halfway between second and first base. He made a diving stop and flipped to Payamps, but Iglesias slid head first and Payamps was off the bag.
Iglesias made it in safely, as did Taylor, tying the game.
Left-hander Aaron Ashby did little to stop the bleeding, giving up hits to Brandon Nimmo and Mark Vientos, then walking Pete Alonso intentionally to load the bases. J.D. Martinez pinch-hit for Winker, driving in two more with an opposite-field single.
Jose Butto and Ryne Stanek finished the game, holding the Brewers scoreless and putting the Mets one game away from advancing to the NLDS.