Game 3 between the Mets and the Brewers had a little bit of everything Thursday night — a pitching battle, back-to-back home runs on back-to-back pitches, and, perhaps most importantly, when Pete Alonso scored. It was a thrilling finish. He took the lead with a 3-run home run in the 9th inning.
And all of that led to record viewership for ESPN's historic Wild Card Round.
The Mets-Brewers game averaged 4.017 million viewers, peaking at 5.745 million at 9:45 p.m. According to ESPNmarking the network's highest ratings for an MLB game since the 2021 Wild Card Game between the Yankees and Red Sox.
ESPN added that the Wild Card Series averaged 2.823 million viewers, the most viewers in history. The bureau said it was a 25 percent increase from the 2023 round.
The next round of the postseason moves to Fox and TBS for the NLCS and ALCS, respectively, before returning to Fox for the World Series.
Nevertheless, the results of the wild card round contained a number of compelling stories that ESPN could leverage.
The upstart Tigers defeated the Astros in Houston, and the Royals followed with a similar victory over the Orioles in Baltimore, making their first postseason appearance since 2015.
The Mets' season seemed all but over before the calendar turned to June, but they continued their remarkable turnaround with a stunning comeback in what could have been the final game of the season.
The peak of the Mets vs. Brewers broadcast was around the time of Alonso's home run, when he was hit by a pitch after Jesse Winker, stole second, and ultimately scored on Starling Marte's single. It was right after the most important explosion of all.
Then, in the bottom half of the frame, starter David Peterson evaded a leadoff single and induced a series-ending double play, sparking his second champagne-filled celebration in five days. The first game followed Game 2 of a Monday doubleheader in Atlanta. , when the Mets won to start the day and secured a spot in the postseason.
The Mets will play the Phillies in the National League starting Saturday, and Kodai Chiga, making his second start of the season after suffering a calf strain in July, will be in action for the Mets against Zack Wheeler at Citizens Bank Park. Serves as the opening pitcher.
