Mets-Brewers NL Wild Card Game 3 facts and figures

The Mets have made a habit of comeback wins all year, and we thought we had seen the pinnacle when they won on Monday in Game 1 of a doubleheader when trailing in the ninth inning to clinch a playoff spot.

As it turns out, that was just an appetizer.

In Game 3 of the Wild Card Series in Milwaukee on Thursday night, the Mets entered the ninth trailing by two runs. After the biggest home run of Pete Alonso’s career and a scoreless bottom of the ninth, they emerged with a 4-2 victory and a date with the Phillies in the National League Division Series.

Here’s a look at seven facts and stats from a wild winner-take-all game:

1. It was a tense and close game throughout. In fact, it was just the fourth winner-take-all game in postseason history to be scoreless through six innings — out of 131 such games. The others were the 2016 NL Wild Card Game between the Giants and Mets, 1991 World Series Game 7 between the Braves and Twins and 1968 World Series Game 7 between the Tigers and Cardinals.

2. The game did not make it through seven scoreless, though, thanks to Jake Bauers’ home run and Sal Frelick’s homer on the subsequent pitch. Bauers’ drive was the fifth pinch-hit homer in a winner-take-all game, joining those by Kiké Hernández (2020 NLCS Game 7), Chris Heisey (2016 NLDS Game 5), Troy O’Leary (2003 NLCS Game 7) and David Justice (2001 ALDS Game 5). Bauers’ was the first of those to give his team a lead.

3. Little did we know, the game was far from over, even with a multirun lead in place. The Brewers entered the ninth still up, 2-0. After a Francisco Lindor leadoff walk and Brandon Nimmo one-out single, Alonso came to the plate. Alonso proceeded to hit a go-ahead three-run home run to give the Mets the lead. It was the 10th go-ahead home run in the ninth inning or later of a winner-take-all game in postseason history. Incredibly, it was the first of those to come with the player’s team trailing.

4. Of course, in the ninth inning of a winner-take-all game, you’re going to face the best that your opponent has to offer. For Alonso, that meant Devin Williams and his dominant Airbender changeup. Williams threw his signature pitch 176 times in the regular season and did not allow a home run on the pitch. Yet, that is precisely the pitch that Alonso took yard.

5. Another element to the home run was where it landed. Alonso homered to right field, which is not common for the slugger. He has hit 228 home runs in his career, including the playoffs. This was just the 24th to go to the opposite field. Of his 34 home runs in the 2024 regular season, just four were oppo shots.

6. Teams entered the day 7-105 when trailing entering the ninth inning in winner-take-all postseason games. They were 2-82 when trailing by multiple runs entering the ninth. That record is now 3-82, with the Mets joining the Cardinals in Game 5 of the 2012 NLDS against the Nationals and the Braves in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS against the Pirates.

7. As noted above, the Mets are no strangers to this kind of comeback, especially this week. With their Game 161 clincher Monday and Game 3 series win Thursday, the Mets became the first team in MLB history to clinch a postseason spot in a win and win a playoff series both via games in which they faced a deficit in the ninth inning or later, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. In their postgame celebration, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said, “This is who we are, boys.” Research confirms.