Mets ride momentum, top Brewers in Game 1 of NL Wild Card - ESPN

MILWAUKEE — After three games in two cities over two days behind almost too many comebacks to count, the New York Mets suddenly find themselves one game away from the National League Division Series.

The Mets overcame two early deficits in the first game of their wild-card series against the Brewers on Tuesday, stringing hits, walks and hit batters into a three-run second inning and a five-run fifth, and now have NL Central champion Milwaukee on the ropes after an 8-4 win.

«It's hard to be tired when you're playing playoff baseball,» third baseman Mark Vientos said. «I had a bunch of energy. I know all of us did. We were all excited, and we got the job done.»

All of this came about 24 hours after New York completed its regular season with a doubleheader in Atlanta that featured the Mets' thrilling come-from-behind, 8-7 win in Game 1, thanks to Francisco Lindor's dramatic go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth.

After losing the second game in Atlanta, the Mets indulged in a postgame celebration in the visiting clubhouse at SunTrust Park, took a flight to Milwaukee and by midday Tuesday were filtering into American Family Field. It just sounds exhausting, and when the Brewers grabbed a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning, few would have been surprised if the contest turned into a runaway.

Well, few outside of the Mets' dugout would, because resilience has become perhaps the defining trait of the 2024 Mets.

«It's a playoff game,» Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. «Everybody's tired. But once you play ball, you've got to go.»

The key blow during New York's three-run second was Jesse Winker's two-run triple into the right-field corner, struck after the Milwaukee crowd booed Winker with vigor as he approached the plate.

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