The Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets faced each other on the final weekend of the regular season, and they will do so again this week in the NL Wild Card round. The stakes were high for the Mets, who needed to win the rescheduled double-header against the Braves on Monday secure a place in the play-offs. A while back, the Brewers won the NL Central by a wide margin.
The Milwaukee Brewers dominated the head-to-head series against the New York Mets 5-1.
How the Brewers reached the National League title
Two major players left Milwaukee last summer: top pitcher Corbin Burnes to the Orioles and manager Craig Counsell to their rival, the Chicago Cubs. Add to that a season-long injury to another top-tier pitcher, Brandon Woodruff, and the Brewers were immediately in a bad spot. These concerns, however, did not discourage manager Pat Murphy and his Brewers, who continued to fight for the NL Central crown. They dominated the league, finishing 10.0 games ahead of runners-up St. Louis and Chicago. Milwaukee finished the season 93-69, finishing third in the National League.
In terms of recent form, the Brewers finished the year on a high note, winning five of their last seven games. In the season finale, they lost 5-0 to the Mets, and ultimately the defeat fell on the shoulder of Colin Rei (5.2 IP, 5 ER). On offense, the team collected only three hits, all of which were singles.
Overall, the Brewers’ offense was among the top ten in Major League Baseball. They finished the regular season ninth in team batting average (.248), tenth in OPS (.729), and sixteenth in home runs (177). Pitchers finished fifth in ERA (3.65) and tenth in WHIP (1.24).
How the Mets entered the postseason
The Mets had a pretty disappointing start to the season, falling 11 games under .500 with a record of 22-33 on May 29. Since then, under manager Carlos Mendoza, New York has become one of the hottest teams in the league, finishing the season 67-40. . Despite finishing the season powerful, the Mets had to wait until Monday’s doubleheader against the Braves to secure a playoff spot. New York won the first game of the doubleheader 9-8, securing a playoff position.
This year, the Mets had every member of the lineup participate. Offensively, Francisco Lindor had an outstanding year, leading the league in average (.273), RBI (91) and OBP (.344). On Monday, he hit his 33rd home run of the season in the top of the ninth inning of Game 1, giving the Mets the lead and putting them in the playoffs. Overall, the offense ranked 12th in team batting average (.246) and ninth in OPS (.734).
I have to go with the Milwaukee Brewers when they win their first game today. For starters, they’ve been resting since Sunday, so all their arms will be at full strength.
Milwaukee was also a solid home team this year, finishing with a record of 47-34. I have no problem picking the Brewers to win the first home game.
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