MILWAUKEE — When it looked as though the Mets were going to cave under pressure, the Mets denied there was pressure at all. It was a strategic, mind-over-matter way of thinking to make them think that it didn’t exist, that their season wasn’t on the line and that their shot at the postseason wasn’t dwindling away.
“Sure, you can do that, and then you probably won’t perform very well,” outfielder Brandon Nimmo said Saturday night after the Mets lost their third consecutive game. “But the mental side of things, from what we’ve heard from people who have succeeded at not just baseball, but football and basketball and everything, is almost getting to the point of not caring what the result is, because that affects the ultimate result.”
The Mets had to play Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers as if they didn’t care in order to succeed. It worked.
They salvaged a series with a 5-0 win at American Family Field, leaving them one win away from clinching an NL Wild Card postseason berth. They can clinch Monday by winning one of two games against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.
“We’ve been talking about it, we just have to keep it the same,” said veteran DH J.D. Martinez. “We can’t put pressure on ourselves. I mean, I’ve been saying this since we sucked and everybody kind of wrote us off. It’s like, dude, we don’t have any pressure. We’re not supposed to be here. We just can’t get here now and all of a sudden we put pressure on ourselves.”
However, even Martinez couldn’t deny that the Mets felt the weight of the season on their shoulders as they arrived in Atlanta last week. The energy in Truist Park felt tight as the Mets lost a crucial series-opener. Then the next two games were moved to Monday when Hurricane Helene rolled through and then the Mets dropped the opener in Milwaukee.
“I could kind of feel it when we were in Atlanta, when we came here right away, you could kind of see it,” Martinez said. “It’s just one of those things where everybody knows it’s at stake. But I think the best teams know how to control those emotions in those situations.”
The Mets effectively controlled their emotions Sunday.
The clubhouse was bumping with dance music Sunday morning. Mark Vientos clapped along to the beat as catcher Francisco Alvarez passed him and yelled, “Let’s go baby! Let’s do it!” They scored a first-inning run to take their first lead in a week and got a clutch performance from left-hander David Peterson.
“Anytime you score runs it helps. Anytime you get a lead it helps. Petey going out there and shoving helps,” Martinez said. “It’s just one of those things where we try to go out there and play well and give ourselves a chance.”
The Mets will start right-handers Luis Severino and Tylor Megill in the doubleheader, though they haven’t decided which pitcher will start which game. Spencer Schwellenbach will face the Mets again and try to repeat his Tuesday night performance.
If the Mets sweep the Braves, they will head to San Diego to open the Wild Card round against the Padres at Petco Park, and eliminate the Braves from postseason contention. If they split the series, they will eliminate the Diamondbacks and head back to Milwaukee to face the Brewers again.
If Atlanta sweeps the doubleheader, the Mets will be out, Arizona will get in and the Braves will face the Padres.
The league opted not to move the Wild Card round back.
“It’s going to be a tough task,” Martinez said. “We’ve just got to suck it up. We’ve got to find a way to get there and get through it.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Alvarez left the game late Sunday with cramps in his right hamstring. By the end of the game, they had dissipated. Alvarez does not anticipate missing time Monday. Luis Torrens played in place of the second-year backstop Saturday after Alvarez went down with back spasms Friday night. The back spasms had gone away by Sunday.
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