MILWAUKEE — Luis Severino Tuesday night was, in many ways, what the Mets' season has been so far.
Things went badly at first, but they were persistent and refused to surrender. No, wait. There was more to it than that. They had the will and skill to do more than just survive.
So Tuesday's Severino ended badly after a terrible start. It was just like the team we all knew. It's a metaphor for this era.
That's because the Mets had a bucketful of excuses by the time they were ready to roll on this opener: from a hellish travel schedule to Monday's most thrilling and exhausting nine-inning stretch in history…and then. Nine more innings ensued…and I even smoked a cigar afterwards. And a champagne celebration… followed by more flights and 10 days of ping pong between Atlanta and Milwaukee. But rather than a concession speech, the Mets doubled down on their mission statement: You can shake them up, but you can't knock them out. And watch out for their counter punches.
“I never expected Monday to be the end of everything,” Brandon Nimmo said of making the playoffs. “After that, we didn’t have any big celebrations.”
“This'' fell behind 2-0 to the Brewers in the first inning, but led 3-2 in the second. After that, they fell behind 4-3 in the fourth, but quickly improved to 8-4 in the fifth, and this score became the deciding score. Just like in Game 1 on Monday in Atlanta, the offense gained momentum with a series of timely and ferocious at-bats up and down the lineup.
And this time it was accomplished, as Severino staggered into the fourth inning, easily outscoring his Milwaukee opponent Freddy Peralta, and even giving him two innings that even he wasn't expecting.
“He understood the mission,” Francisco Lindor said.
It was about getting as many outs as possible to protect an overloaded bullpen and rest it for what was to come. Severino thought it was over after four innings, four runs, and 79 pitches. However, Mendoza recognized the value of every out, both in the short and long term, and instructed Severino to continue.
Severino started pitching perfectly, six up and six down on 26 pitches, followed by Jose Butt with two innings and Ryne Stanek with one.
“We could have easily used five or more pitchers for this, but instead we used three,” Lindor said. “[Severino] We knew every out he gave us was going to be big. ”
It's not just Tuesday. Yes, a team that was 0-5 to start the schedule, posted a dismal May record and was trying to dispel rumors of being a seller in June, took the lead in a playoff series for the first time since the 2015 NLCS and won 10 games. It started in May. And Severino's efforts helped him get his bullpen back in search of another win to complete the upset in this No. 3 game and advance to the Phillies in the Division Series.
The Mets finally exorcised their demons in Atlanta on Monday with wins against Milwaukee and the Brewers. They lost 15 of 18 games at American Family Field in 2018 and are 1-5 against the Brewers this season.
Milwaukee led 4-3 through the fourth inning, and Severino started over 10 games in the playoffs, posting a 5.48 ERA. However, Brewers manager Pat Murphy removed the starting pitcher in the fourth inning, but Peralta was retired for the ninth consecutive time with Jesse Winkler's two-run triple in the second inning. Of course, the Brewers have the best bullpen ERA in the National League, posting a 1.59 in 28 regular-season innings against the Mets.
Then, dynamic rookie left fielder Jackson Chourio stole a home run from Starling Marte and took the lead for the fifth point. The 40,022 people in attendance waved yellow towels and suffocated the Mets with decibels as the roof was closed. But by the end of the inning, both the Brewers' cornerstone pen and defense were crumbling, and the kind people of the Midwest had to remove Aaron Ashby, who faced five batters and didn't let a single one out, off the mound. They were booing.
Severino returned when the lead was 4 points. Up to that point, he had a whopping 13 at-bats with a runner in scoring position. However, the other runner was not allowed. He went from what he called a “grind” to getting six more valuable outs and cruising. The guy who ultimately couldn't stay healthy with the Yankees had gas in the tank after finishing sixth in innings in the National League.
This is also a metaphor for the team to make further discoveries. Severino and this team on Monday could have gotten another start. Instead, they keep stumbling on. they continue to stand. And as early as Wednesday night, we might add, that's what keeps them going.
