*Photo from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel*
After they clinched a playoff spot, the Milwaukee Brewers set their sights on the division. They wanted to do it in front of their own fans. In their last home game of the season, they got it done. Willy Adames homered, Eduardo Escobar drove in two runs, and the Brewers defeated the New York Mets 8-4 on Sunday afternoon.
On a day where the rival St.Louis Cardinals won their 16th straight game, but the Brewers aren't worried about that anymore. Because, on fan appreciation day at the ballpark, they did what they wanted to do, which was celebrate clinching the division in front of their fans. The win also locks the Brewers in as the number two seed in the NL, meaning they will play the winner of the NL East in the NLDS.
Brewers infielder Kolten Wong talked about winning the division, saying that "We all left the clubhouse Saturday night kind of yelling that we were going to clinch it today. We want to do it for these fans, they mean so much to us and have helped us through some tough times. So we wanted to do it here at home."
In the top of the first, Francisco Lindor got the Mets on the board by cranking a solo home run to right field, and the Mets took 1 -0 lead. In the bottom of the first, a two run home run from Adames put the Brewers ahead 2-1. In the second, Lorenzo Cain scored on a fielders choice, and Escobar hit a two run single, giving the Brewers a 5-1 lead pretty early.
In the 4th, a two run double from Javier Baez cut the Mets deficit to 5-3. In the top of the 6th, Kevin Pillar cut the deficit to 5-4 by adding an RBI single. The Brewers re-distanced themselves in the bottom of the 6th, when Eric Lauer, Adames, and Wong all scored on separate Mets errors, making it 8-4 Brewers and all but sealing the game.
The Brewers were also lucky enough to win the division on the day players and fans celebrated the retirement of Ryan Braun in Milwaukee, with a pregame ceremony to honor his career. It was also the day the Brewers honored legendary play by play man Bob Uecker for his 50th anniversary calling games on the radio.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell thought the timing of winning the division was perfect, saying that "The fact that we got it done today, it almost worked out as good as we could have hoped for, man. It was a special weekend here, a special weekend for Brewers fans. We gave them a great weekend."
Freddy Peralta got the win in his start for the Brewers, improving to 10-5 this season. Peralta allowed 4 runs on 5 hits and one walk, striking out 5 hitters in 5 1/3 innings pitched. Brent Suter picked up a hold after finishing the 6th inning for Peralta. In relief of Peralta and Suter was Aaron Ashby, Devin Williams, and Josh Hader, with Hader locking things down in the 9th.
A day after getting eliminated from the playoffs themselves, the Mets saw their record drop to 73-82 after watching the Brewers celebrate the NL Central. That loss guaranteed the Mets won't finish with a winning record, the best they can get is a .500 record this season. It's a pretty disappointing finish for the Mets, who had world series aspirations at the start of the season.
Carlos Carrasco got hit with the loss for the Mets, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks, managing just 3 strikeouts in 4 innings, dropping to 1-4 in what has been an underwhelming season for Carrasco. Miguel Castro, Jeurys Familia, Aaron Loup, Heath Hembree, and Brad Hand also pitched in relief.
Carrasco addressed his loss, saying that "I’ve been trying to be too cute in there. I’m trying to push the pitch that I want instead of actually throwing it, and that’s why I’m missing a bunch of spots."
After a day off on Monday, the Brewers get back into action with a road series against the Cardinals on Tuesday, with Brandon Woodruff taking the mound for the Brewers. The Mets play a doubleheader against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday, with no announced starters currently.
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