The National League Wild Card series has now wrapped up. With the Mets moving on, they will face Philadelphia Phillies, while the Padres will go head to head with division rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
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GAME 1
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GAME 2
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GAME 3
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This series was worth waiting for. The Mets were coming into this series on no rest. Even with the crazy turn around with their late end to the season, they were able really flex their offensive muscles. In Game 1, they found themselves down by a run after the fourth inning, and just decided it was time to put up 5. The comeback was really a full team effort. With stars getting on base while the rest of the team brought them home. It really was a complete effort.
Game Two was a different story. The Mets looked like they were heading on to the next round when they were up 3-2 heading into the 8th inning. Unfortunately for them, the Brewers wanted to play baseball a little longer and put up three runs to take a 5-3 lead and held on to that lead to win the game and force a Game 3.
With a winner takes all type game the stakes are as high as they get. The Mets and Brewers took to American Family Field to see who would meet the Phillies in the next round. While for the most part the game was a pitching battle, eventually you knew someone had to crack and the Brewers got on the board first with two runs in the 7th inning.
The Mets would eventually make a comeback for the ages. In the 9th, the Mets would put up four runs and take the game. The comeback was lead mainly by Pete Alsono who hit a home run to drive himself, Lindor, and Nimmo across home plate. Jesse Winker would add the insurance marker, but it would not be needed as the final score was 4-2 Mets. They will be the ones heading on to Philadelphia to meet the Phillies.
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GAME 1
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GAME 2
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The Padres on the other hand, had a fairly easy time with the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta really just could not get consistent offensive in either game. Game 1 was a bit of a capitalizing on opportunity type game. While the Padres would only get five hits, they would score four times. Getting on the board early in the first two innings with three runs and that is all they would need to win. They added a fourth run in the 8th.
Atlanta started Game 2 with a run in the first inning. The Padres then returned fire with five runs of their own in the second inning. Starting with a homer by Kyle Higashioka. Then Tatis and Arraez scoring off a Machado double. To finish it off, Jackson Merrill tripled and brought home Machado and Profar.
Max Fried would finish the inning, but that would be all for him after two innings of work due to an injury. That is all that San Diego would need to move on to meet the Dodgers. But the Braves did make it interesting late in the game with two runs in the 8th. It turns out it was too little to late as they could not complete the comeback.
The Atlanta Braves will be looking to just get healthy in the off season. While the outcome may have been the same, the Braves were missing key pieces to their roster in Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuna, Austin Riley, A.J. Minter, and latest being Max Fried in Game 2. If the Braves were to run it back with the same roster, just healthy no one could blame them. Look for them to add more depth for next season so they can make a good run even if they are not healthy.
The Milwaukee Brewers are a good team that lost in the Wild Card round. Milwaukee will want to improve on the team that won the division in the regular season. They do have some expiring contracts that they will need to figure out who they will want to resign with and who to let go. The free agency market will definitely have some power hitters on the list, if they make it to market of course. They will want to get a few more hitters in to add some depth to their hitting lineup.
The National League Wild Card was exciting, but the divisional series are shaping up to be wild.
Make sure you stay on Area 51 as we preview the ALDS and NLDS.