New York Mets vs. Milwaukee Brewers Live Coverage, Stats and Updates – October 1, 2024 Gametracker

MILWAUKEE – It took an extra day to determine the opponent, but the National League Central champion Brewers host the New York Mets on Tuesday in the opener of an NL wild-card series.

The Mets secured the No. 6 seed on Monday by winning the first game of a makeup doubleheader in Atlanta. The Braves won the second game 3-0, securing the No. 5 seed and a date against the host San Diego Padres in the other wild-card series.

Monday's results eliminated the Arizona Diamondbacks from playoff contention. The defending NL champions needed a team to win Monday's doubleheader, making up for two postponements last week due to the hurricane.

New York won Monday's opener 8-7 on Francisco Lindor's two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth. The Mets scored six runs in the eighth, only to see Atlanta rally to a 7-6 lead with four in the bottom half.

“We answered the bell and earned the right to play in the postseason,” New York first baseman Pete Alonso said. “This is when we have a great opportunity in front of us.”

Freddy Peralta (11-9, 3.68 ERA) will pitch for Milwaukee on Tuesday, while fellow right-hander Luis Severino (11-7, 3.91) gets the nod for the Mets.

The Brewers clinched the NL Central title with 10 games to go and won five of their final seven games. They won two of three games against New York in the final series and finished that season 5-1 against the Mets.

“This team hasn't given much thought to who they're playing all year,” first-year Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said Monday before the first-round opponent was announced.

“… It is not our job to make predictions and plan. It's just a matter of preparing, playing well, then playing well, then treating yourself to something good. That’s our rhythm, so to speak.”

The Brewers are in the postseason for the sixth time in seven seasons, but have struggled there of late.

Since losing in Game 7 of the 2018 National League Championship Series to the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee has gone 1-8 in playoff games. Last year's playoff disappointment came with a win against Arizona in the wild card round.

“We feel different,” Peralta said Monday. “I can say that. Even today, with the mood we are in right now, you can see on every face that we all know where we are, know where we are going and where we want to be.”

Peralta, who took the top spot in the rotation when Corbin Burnes was traded to Baltimore before the season, has gone 3-2 with a 2.48 ERA in his last seven starts. He pitched a total of 173 2/3 innings in 32 starts – both were career highs – and finished with 200 strikeouts.

The 28-year-old is 0-1 with a 3.46 ERA in four postseason appearances, including two starts. He allowed four runs over five innings in last year's 5-2 loss to Arizona in Game 2.

In his only start against the Mets this season on March 29, Peralta allowed one run on a solo home run over six innings in a 3-1 win.

Severino was 2-1 with a 3.64 ERA in five starts in September. He allowed four runs in four innings in last Tuesday's 5-1 loss to the Braves.

The 30-year-old is 1-4 with a 5.15 ERA in 11 postseason appearances, including 10 starts. On March 30, he gave up six runs (three earned) on 11 hits in five innings in a 7-6 loss to the Brewers.

Milwaukee outfielder Sal Frelick ran the bases and hit fly balls on Monday and said he was “ready to go,” but his status is still uncertain.

Frelick, who hit .259 this season and stole 18 bases in 145 games, suffered a bone bruise in his left hip when he hit an unpadded section of wall on Friday.

–Jim Hoehn, Field Level Media