Manaea hit hard, Mendoza was sent off in Brewers 8-4 loss

Andy Bernard, a character from “The Office,” said in the series finale: “I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.”

It's the final weekend of a Mets season that, however it ends, should be looked back on with a smile years from now. I mean, Click on this link see a work of art. If you haven't, it's a fan-made graphic that shows the rise and fall of the Mets' playoff odds throughout the season, overlaid with all the ups and downs that no one could have predicted.

You can see everything in the effect Francisco Alvarez Injury, Grimace's first pitch and sit montage, the downturn after that Kodai Senga's injury and the shots in the arm Phil Maton (?) And Luisangel Acuna. Side note: There may be no more tickets for comedian Kevin James.

For fans who have no use for non-baseball shenanigans – OMG concerts, rally pimps and Hawk Tuahs – I get it. It's been a crazy ride even if all these things are ignored.

There were probably fans who cursed the contract Francisco Lindor in April, who chanted “MVP!” with him in July. Mark Vientos started the year in the minors, came up and hit a walk-off home run almost immediately, only to be sent back down days later. Luckily, he was promoted again and hit another 26 home runs. The pitching in May (4.85 ERA) looked like it would ruin the season. (You may recall that a frustrated reliever was ejected and gave his glove to a lucky fan.) The staff's ERA for September was 2.88 as of Friday.

The 2024 New York Mets brought all that experience to Milwaukee and were looking to inch ever closer to a playoff spot, ready to fight for another good old day. The Brewers had other plans.

Met's nemesis Rhys Hoskins hit a grand slam in the first inning and Milwaukee led New York with an 8-4 victory at American Family Field on Friday night. In Atlanta, the Braves defeated the Kansas City Royals 3-0 and moved level with the Mets in the standings with four games to go.

Sean Manaea (12-6), making its final regular season start, did not play. He gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings. It was the most runs he had given up since June 8th.

Trailing 5-2 in the fourth, Alvarez made the score 3-2 with two ons and two outs. Home plate umpire Ramon De Jesus hesitated before calling the third strikeout, and Alvarez, who had made his way to the first hit, was outraged. He winced twice in frustration and stabbed him in the helmet. manager Carlos Mendoza defended his player, got into a direct fight with De Jesus and was thrown out.

The call for strike was great. A walk would have laid the foundations for this Tyrone Taylor. Instead, the inning was over.

In the eighth round they were down 2:7, Harrison Bader was robbed of an extra-base hit with the bases loaded Jackson Chourio made a running, one-handed catch in front of the left field wall. He chose a sacrifice fly. The Mets added another run when Brice Turang immediately dropped a pair of pop fly shorts JD Martinez.

With two ons and two outs, Milwaukee (92-68) brought the ball in Trevor Megillwho has Luis Torrens fly out to the right while the binding runs on the plate.

Lindor, playing for the first time in 12 days after a back injury, was 2 for 4 with a walk and a throwing error that led to an unearned run in the second inning.

In the seventh, Alvarez injured his back on a routine slide into third base when he advanced against him on an infield groundout with no play. He winced in pain on the ground before leaving the game. The Mets later announced that he was dealing with back spasms.

Martinez was 0 for 3 and is now hitless in his last 35 at-bats. The franchise record for a position player is Rey Ordonezwho scored 0:37 in 1997. Going the other way is Jose Iglesiaswho went 2 of 3 to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, the longest active streak in the majors.

Vientos hit a two-run home run in the third that cut the Mets' deficit (87-71) to 5-2.

Going back to Andy Bernard's quote: I went to a lot of games as a kid. They were all good old days. My favorite was a Mookie Wilson Go away Home run in September 1981. The most famous was Tom Seavers come back Opening day, 1983.

On May 16, 1982 (Baseball Reference is an excellent source), my father and I were fortunate enough to watch a bad Mets team defeat the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, 13-4. New York scored nine runs in the sixth inning, and on the way out my dad told me to take a close look at the “9” on the scoreboard because I wouldn't be seeing it again anytime soon.

Take one looks good again in this diagram. You won't see a year like the Mets 2024 again anytime soon.

Statistics of the game

The Mets are 0-2 against the Brewers on Fridays this season after a rainout. New York lost 3-1 to the Brewers on March 29 after a rainstorm postponed Opening Day at Citi Field.

Player of the game

Vientos was 1-for-5 with the home run and two RBIs. He has scored in two consecutive games and has six goals in September.

On deck

The Mets have another big game coming up. Jose Quintana will start for the Mets, while the Brewers have yet to announce who they will start. The game will air at 7:15 p.m. ET on FOX.