The Mets plan to 'right back up' to win Game 3

MILWAUKEE – “This is going to be a game that people will talk about forever,” Carlos Mendoza reflected Wednesday in Game 161 of this Mets season. That win in the first game of a doubleheader against the Braves earned the Mets a postseason berth. But it did more for them. By beating their longtime tormentors in Atlanta, the Mets proved — for the umpteenth time this season — they can overcome even the slimmest of odds.

It's a skill they'll need to draw on once more on Thursday in their highest game in two years. After losing Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series, 5-3, to the Brewers, the Mets are now set to play in their first win-or-go-home main event: a Game 3 showdown in Milwaukee at 7 pm ET.

“Here we are,” Mendoza said. “I got punched today. We'll back up now.”

Those punches came in quick succession in the eighth inning at American Family Field, after Mendoza set up the last game exactly as he wanted: Ryne Stanek for the seventh, Phil Matton for the eighth, Edwin Diaz for the last three or four outs. The NL nailed down a trip to the Division Series. The Mets never got there. Jackson Chaurio opened the eighth inning with his second homer of the night, a game-tying shot off Matton, and Garrett Mitchell followed four batters with a go-ahead, two-run homer.

“I'm still feeling the adrenaline there,” Chaurio said about half an hour later. “It was a special moment for me, and it's one that I'll look back on and remember for the rest of my life.”

It's a moment that will go down in Brewers lore — but only if the Mets allow it. Winning Game 3 would reduce the eighth inning of Game 2 to a mere footnote, standing in the Mets' way to bigger and better things.

So far this season, they have answered such challenges as a matter of routine. In their sixth game of the season, the Mets found themselves three outs away from falling to 0-6. They won by walk off. At the end of May, the Mets were 11 games under .500. They became the best team in Major League Baseball from that point on. As recently as early September, with their season in Toronto again in meltdown, Francisco Lindor broke Boden Francis' no-hit bid with a game-tying homer in the ninth inning, allowing the Mets to climb into the NL wild card standings. And of course earlier this week in Atlanta, it was a game Mendoza will remember forever.

These are just a few examples of the Mets' resilience. Every good team has its share of moments like this, but these Mets seem preternaturally good at making them over a long period of time.

“It's win or go home,” said their Game 2 starter, Sean Mania. “If anyone can do it, this team can.”

“We've been doing it all year, to be honest,” added first baseman Pete Alonso. “We have responded well to adversity this season. I believe in my guys in this clubhouse.”

Within the walls of that room, the Mets felt they were ready to respond once more. They will send Jose Quintana to the mound on Thursday and should have a full complement of relievers ready behind him. Matton, who Mendoza has leaned on heavily all week, said he's ready to pitch for the fifth time in six days if necessary. Diaz, who was available for a maximum of four outs in Game 2, should be able to give the Mets six in an elimination game.

The Mets can also draw on their experience from two years ago, when they lost Game 3 of the Wild Card Series to the Padres. Since MLB moved to its current postseason format in 2022, there have been a dozen wild card series. Only two of them went to a decisive third game, and the Mets — a chaos team, if ever there was one — were involved in both.

“Of course, losing is not fun but we have responded to adversity all year,” Alonso said. “I'm really excited for this challenge tomorrow. I know they are equally excited. … That's the thing about the playoffs — two great teams going into it.”