After the other three MLB wild-card series ended in sweeps, all eyes were on Milwaukee, where the New York Mets eliminated the Milwaukee Brewers in a thrilling Game 3. The Mets get a National League Division Series date with the rival Philadelphia Phillies -- and the Brewers' season ends in heartbreaking fashion.
How did it all go down? We've got you covered with live updates and analysis as the game was played, followed by our takeaways after the final pitch.
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Takeaways
There is something about these Mets. From flipping a slow start in the regular season to the remarkable comeback win in Atlanta on Monday, New York has made resiliency its defining trait. And yet that barely describes what we saw Thursday when the Mets stunned a ready-to-celebrate opponent in the ninth inning for the second time in four days.
This time it was Pete Alonso doing the honors, hammering a misplaced Devin Williams changeup at 105 miles per hour and over the right-field fence for a stunning three-run homer. It could have been Alonso's last at-bat as a Met. Instead, it became an emphatic argument for why they should pull out all the stops to keep him.
The Mets move on to face the Phillies. In each of the past two postseasons, the Phillies advanced out of the wild-card round and rolled through the division series, beating the Braves in four games both times. Now it's their turn to deal with a layoff, and they will go against a New York team riding the momentum of winning the past two of a tense three-game wild-card series. In other words, for the Phillies the shoe is on the other foot. -- Bradford Doolittle
The celebration took a few minutes to set up -- after all, it had to quickly move from one clubhouse to the other after that ninth inning. But as soon as the champagne and beer were distributed, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza took center stage.
"Look at these faces," he shouted as his team surrounded him. "I want to see that smile. This is who we are, boys. We keep having fun. We keep smiling. This is us right here. And we continue to believe."
And then the corks were popped and the cigars lit, starting a party that had actually begun with Alonso's ninth inning blast, stunning the home crowd at American Family Field. Moments after the drinks began to flow, chants from his teammates began, too: "Pete! Pete! Pete!" yelled Mets teammates as Alonso was the first player doused from head to toe. This was the Polar Bear's night, and inside the Mets clubhouse, the party ran through him. -- Jesse Rogers