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    • Heartbreak for the Brewers as Devin Williams falters in the ninth against the Mets
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    Heartbreak for the Brewers as Devin Williams falters in the ninth against the Mets

    Eira Gwyneth Posted on

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    Absolute, utter heartbreak.

    How else to describe the turn of events for the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night?

    Just three outs away from exorcising the postseason demons that have plagued them since 2018, their hopes were instead dashed when Devin Williams was on the mound to end Game 3 of the teams’ National League Wild Card Series.

    The right-hander allowed two baserunners to reach with one out in the ninth inning to bring slugger Pete Alonso to the plate. He was silent until this point in the series, but he stunned the sellout crowd of 41,594 at American Family Field by hitting a three-run home run to right.

    MORE: Box score

    The sixth-seeded New York Mets made one more run against Williams before chasing him, and the third-seeded Brewers eventually fell 4-2 and their season ended in disastrous fashion.

    There had been chaos just two innings earlier when Jake Bauers and Sal Frelick hit home runs on consecutive pitches from Jose Butto to give Milwaukee a 2-0 lead.

    Now the Brewers are forced to stew all winter for another postseason flameout — this one as unlikely as it gets — instead of scheduling an NL Division Series matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park starting Saturday .

    What a turnaround for the Brewers

    While the Brewers were unable to get anything going offensively against Jose Quintana through the first six innings, the offense came alive against Butto in the seventh.

    Awakens in one big way That means.

    The left-handed Bauers, who had to play for Rhys Hoskins with the right-hander Butto replacing Quintana, fell behind 2-1 in the scoring before returning to full action.

    Butto’s sixth throw was a big changeup left over center that Bauers didn’t miss as he sent it 405 feet to the right to break the scoreless deadlock.

    More: Brewers radio legend Bob Uecker is back in the booth for Game 3 of the playoffs

    But Milwaukee wasn’t done yet, as Frelick went to the ground, grabbed a 96 mph fastball from Butto and hammered it 408 feet into the second deck to completely electrify the crowd.

    It was the second major success for Bauers in meaningful games; It was his walkoff single that clinched the Central Division title for the Brewers on September 18.

    And it was Frelick’s first home run since May 15th. Don’t forget that the right fielder wasn’t even scheduled to play in the Series after suffering a bruised left hip in a collision with the right field wall last weekend.

    Devin Williams couldn’t close it

    After scoreless innings from Trevor Megill, Nick Mears and, surprisingly, Freddy Peralta, things went perfectly for the Brewers.

    That got the Brewers closer to the game with just three outs remaining, but the Mets’ lead was imminent.

    Williams immediately made things difficult for himself by eliminating top player Francisco Lindor. He then struck out Mark Vientos and then allowed a single to Brandon Nimmo to move Alonso to the corners.

    Williams fell behind 3-1 and then allowed a changeup across the plate that Alonso drilled 354 feet to right, stunning Williams and the crowd.

    But the Mets weren’t finished yet as they made an insurance run. Williams hit Winker, who stole second, and then Starling Marte hit a single to right to score Winker.

    At this point, Joe Ross had to replace Williams (34 pitches) and ended the inning. Frelick singled off David Peterson to open the bottom of the ninth, but Joey Ortiz struck out and Brice Turang hit a game-winning double play.

    William Contreras was hobbled

    William Contreras, who was originally in the lineup as a catcher, was swapped with Gary Sánchez, and Sánchez started at catcher.

    The reason? A crooked left knee. The line-up change was made after manager Pat Murphy spoke to the media. Therefore, there was no explanation as to whether this was something that had surfaced recently or whether Contreras had been dealing with the issue for some time.

    Contreras could be seen wearing a thick brace under his uniform pants, and while he wasn’t a fast hitter to begin with, he made things even harder for himself by hitting the ball to the ground on each of his first two at-bats (both groundouts).

    Tobias Myers lived up to the moment

    On a team full of young and inexperienced players, rookie Tobias Myers was undoubtedly under the most pressure in the series, starting for the Brewers in the win-win Game 3.

    And as he has done all season, the right-hander rose to the challenge.

    He allowed a leadoff hustle double to Lindor, a two-out single to Lindor in the third and hit Jesse Winker to open the fifth – that was it for the baserunners against him over five shutout innings.

    Myers hit five strikeouts, including two in a row after the winker’s punt, then got No. 9 hitter Francisco Alvarez to come out to end his night with his 66th pitch.

    Somewhat uncharacteristically – but entirely understandably – Myers strutted off the mound after that final pass, admonishing himself and clearly enjoying the gem he had turned. Removing him at this point was entirely within the Brewers’ playbook, as the team did not want to expose Myers to the Mets for a third time through the order.

    Megill took over for Myers in the sixth.

    Jose Quintana is back to his old tricks

    Unfortunately for Myers, his left-handed counterpart, Jose Quintana, was also up to the task.

    Making his second start in five days in Milwaukee, the savvy veteran limited the Brewers to three hits and a walk in his six innings.

    While he threw just five strikeouts – four fewer than last Saturday – Quintana generated eight groundball outs and allowed virtually no hard contact during his 94-pitch outing.

    It’s interesting timing that the 35-year-old was exactly six years and two days removed from starting and losing to the Brewers in that memorable Game 163 that clinched the Central Division title for Milwaukee at Wrigley Field.

    Quintana’s mastery of the Brewers over the years has been well documented, and his performance in this one was just another chapter in the book.

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    Eira Gwyneth
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