Flushing, NY: The Mets took their positions at Citi Field Wednesday night and on the scoreboard was a 7-run Milwaukee Brewers first inning. So before Jacob deGrom would throw their first pitch they knew if the Brewers won, they would be eliminated from postseason contention no matter what the final score was against the Marlins.
deGrom would continue his quest for a second consecutive CY Young Award, and he did finishing his season with 23.0 scoreless innings and a 2.43 ERA. Pete Alonso hit his Major League leading 51st home run and is one shy of surpassing the rookie record held by the Yankees’ Aaron Judge.
The Mets would win 10-3, though that did not matter for their season to continue. Because the Brewers continued their marvelous September, 18-3, and moments earlier defeated the Reds for that second NL Wild Card.
But it was not all gloom and doom in that Mets clubhouse. They have four games remaining as a group and can be proud of their accomplishments with their first winning season since their last postseason run to the wild card in 2016.
They played meaningful games in August and September and were still vying for a postseason spot with five games remaining on the schedule.
“I felt like we still had a chance until I saw that “F” on the board,” said Manager Mickey Callaway about the final Brewers score. “I really did. That’s how I felt all year, and I thanked them for making that so.”
Callaways added, “I thought we played pretty good baseball down the stretch to try and stay in it. Obviously, Milwukee was just off the charts. Nobody was catching them.”
And to the Mets, well they always believed they would catch the Brewers, or the Cubs for that matter who were eliminated from postseason contention Tuesday night.
“We proved that we can win baseball games,” deGrom said. “We’ve just got to put it together for a full season.”
Since May 22, deGrom has an ERA of 1.89 in 23 starts. He leads the NL in strikeouts (255) the only pitcher in the league to reach that mark three straight years and this was his eight consecutive start of throwing 7.0 innings and the 12th in his last 13 outings.
CY Young numbers overall, second in ERA and innings and first in that important category of WHIP (Walks, Hits, Innings Pitched. Callaway, who may or may not return for a third season as manager gave his opinion about deGrom and another Cy Young Award.
“”I’ve looked at the numbers,” he said. “I don’t see how it can go any other way.”
But the Mets, and in no particular order, including deGrom and Alonso, would rather settle for a postseason and continue to play baseball after the final game at Citi Field Sunday.
They had a losing record in August and went on a tear winning 15 of 16, also with a schedule in their favor. But they could not bypass the Cubs or Brewers. Along with some inconsistency in the lineup and with their starting pitching , and blown saves from the bullpen, they managed to fall short.
But it was not a total loss. The Mets believe they gained from this stretch and got the experience to get there next year.
“The goal is to win the World Series and we fell short of that goal,” deGrom said. “So it’s a tough night, a tough pill to swallow. We proved that we can win baseball games. We’ve just got to put it together for a full season.
As Pete Alonso said, “I guess now the fat lady’s singing. It’s unfortunate, but we came back so awesomely and the way we went about our business was spectacular.”
NOTES: Amed Rosario has hit safely in six straight games and has 10 RBI in his last nine games…
Marlins are 1-8 at Citi Field… Jorge Alfano, Sinceljo, Colombia, 1-for-4 hit his third home run of the series along with driving in eight runs and has 18 home runs on the season.
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