MILWAUKEE – You could not have scripted it any better for the Milwaukee Brewers.
After breaking a scoreless stalemate with back-to-back home runs from Jake Bauers and Sal Frelick, the Milwaukee Brewers turned over a two-run lead to closer Devin Williams, who’d been essentially automatic since returning from a season-long stint on the injured list at the end of July.
But what was shaping up to be the feel-good story of the year quickly turned into horror when Pete Alonso belted a 3-1 changeup over the wall in right center then heartbreak when the Brewers were retired in the bottom of the inning to seal a stunning 4-2 loss to the New York Mets in the third and decisive game of their National League Wild Card Series at American Family Field.
“It was a great script for us,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “Devin has been as good a closer as there is in baseball for the two and a half years he’s played. I’d give him the ballgame tomorrow.”
Unfortunately for Murphy, he won’t get that chance as the loss ended the season for Milwaukee, which has failed to advance past its first round of the playoffs in each of its last five appearances and has lost six straight postseason series overall since sweeping the Rockies in the 2018 NL Division Series.
“I feel sad for our guys because they competed like they did, but it’s baseball.”
And for eight innings, the style of baseball Milwaukee played was nearly flawless.
Perfect Script
Right-hander Tobias Myers set the tone, holding the Mets to just a pair of hits while striking out five over five shutout innings. Trevor Megill came next, needing only seven pitches to retire New York in the sixth followed by another shutdown effort in the seventh, this time from Nick Mears.
With Megill, who reverted to more of a set-up role after Williams returned from the IL, already out of the game, Murphy gave Game 1 starter Freddy Peralta the ball for the eighth and the Brewers’ aced delivered with another scoreless inning.
While Milwaukee’s pitching was dominating, the Brewers’ bats were held in check by longtime nemesis Jose Quintana. The veteran left-hander also struck out five in his six-inning effort and while he allowed four hits and a walk, the Brewers failed to cash in when they had their chances.
The tide finally turned in the bottom of the seventh when Bauers, pinch-hitting for first baseman Rhys Hoskins, worked reliever Jose Butto full before sending a 95 MPH changeup 405 feet to right field to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.
The sellout crowd 41,594 hadn’t even stopped cheering when Frelick, who’d hit just one home run all season, sent Butto’s very next pitch three feet further than Bauer’s to make it a 2-0 game.
It was still 2-0 when Williams came on for the ninth. Francisco Lindor opened the inning with a leadoff walk and after Matt Vinetos struck out, Brandon Nimmo belted a single to right. That brought up Alonso who got ahead 3-1 before crushing a changeup for the game-changing blast.
“I’m not going to make any excuses. I didn’t get the job done when I needed to. They executed well and I didn’t.”
Dream Season, Nightmare Ending
The loss brings to an end what had been one of the most memorable – and certainly unexpected – seasons in franchise history.
After winning the NL Central last season, the Brewers were expected to take a step back this season after manager Craig Counsell bolted for the rival Cubs last November and No. 1 starter Corbin Burnes was dealt to Baltimore just before Spring Training.
But Counsell’s replacement, Pat Murphy took a group of talented, young and unproven players, mixed with a handful of veterans, and turned them into believers in themselves. Milwaukee came out of the gate strong and took control of the Central Division early despite a rash of injuries that decimated it’s starting rotation.
The Brewers kept on winning and had already built up a comfortable lead on the rest of the division when more bad news came after Christian Yelich, in the midst of his best season since 2019, landed back on the injured list and would have to undergo season-ending back surgery.
Willy Adames Comments
They still won the division, clinching with 10 games to play and the goal of finally making a deep October run seemed realistic. Even after a stunning loss in Game 1, the Brewers found a way to bounce back in Game 2 behind a pair of home runs from rookie Jackson Chourio and another from Garrett Mitchell.
Then came Thursday, when everything seemed to finally line up in Milwaukee’s favor.
“It’s tough,” said shortstop Willy Adames, who’s set to hit free agency this winter and may have played his last game in a Brewers uniform. “Last night was a different vibe. Tonight, the vibe is dead. It’s tough to lose but losing that way, when you’re so close … It’s a terrible feeling.”
Main Photo Credits: Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
