MILWAUKEE – After three games in two cities in two days with almost too many comebacks to count, the New York Mets suddenly find themselves one game away from the National League Division Series.

The Mets overcame two early deficits in the first game of their wild-card series against the Brewers on Tuesday, stringing together singles, walks and batters in a three-run second inning and a five-run fifth inning, and have now NL Central champion Milwaukee on the ropes after an 8-4 win.

“It’s hard to be tired when you’re playing playoff baseball,” third baseman Mark Vientos said. “I had a lot of energy. I know we all did. We were all excited and we got the job done.”

All this came about 24 hours after New York closed out the regular season with a doubleheader in Atlanta, which featured the Mets with a thrilling come-from-behind, 8-7 victory in Game 1, thanks to Francisco Lindor’s dramatic two-run lead . homer in the ninth.

After losing the second game in Atlanta, the Mets enjoyed a postgame party at the visiting clubhouse at SunTrust Park, took a flight to Milwaukee and filtered to American Family Field on Tuesday afternoon. It just sounds tiring, and when the Brewers jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning, few would have been surprised if the game turned into a runaway.

Well, few outside the Mets dugout would, as resilience has become perhaps the defining characteristic of the 2024 Mets.

“It’s a playoff game,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. ‘Everyone is tired. But once you play the ball, you have to go.”

The biggest hit during New York’s second three runs was Jesse Winker’s two-run triple into the right-field corner, hit after the Milwaukee crowd booed Winker vigorously as he approached the plate.

Video of the broadcast showed Winker exchanging not-so-pleasant things with Brewers shortstop Willy Adames, his teammate in Milwaukee last season, after Winker slid to third base. What was that all about? Winker didn’t say it.

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Winker said after thinking about the question for a moment. “I just want to concentrate on tomorrow’s match.”

Maybe Winker was just tired. You can’t blame him, but the veteran, picked up by the Mets midseason, has seen his team react to adversity too many times not to get involved.

“I just feel like this is the story of this team,” Winker said. “A lot of things have been thrown at this team, and (we) just respond. It’s time to go. You’re in the playoffs.”

After the long day in Atlanta a day earlier, the Mets’ bullpen plan was delicate, and that could have ultimately worked in New York’s favor. Because while Luis Severino struggled in the early innings, Mendoza stuck with him because he didn’t want to dive into his reliever corps too early. Severino found his footing and ultimately gave the Mets six innings, giving up four runs and earning the win.

“The bullpen appreciated that,” Severino said. “When they came back to the dugout, they were really happy that I got those six innings and got back there and tried to get through that outing.”

On the other hand, the well-rested Brewers pulled their top starter, Freddy Peralta, after just four innings and 68 pitches. Peralta gave up three runs, so the Brewers decided to start their parade of relievers early in the tradition of so many postseason games of this era.

Unfortunately, the relievers Peralta replaced — Joel Payamps and Aaron Ashby — gave up a combined five runs during a two-out rally in New York in the fifth to close out the scoring. Ashby failed to retire any of the five batters he faced.

“(Peralta) is probably 18 pitches away from his limit,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “We take the lead in the game. We have a full bullpen. It’s a playoff game. We would like to get it at five because of our bullpen usage during the week, (but) you don’t do that.” You’re playing to win tonight.”

Maybe Peralta wouldn’t have arrived as well as Severino, and maybe it wouldn’t have mattered because these Mets, who were 11 games under .500 in early June, are riding a wave that shows no signs of cresting.

“Yeah, we went back to Atlanta, played a doubleheader and came back here,” Mendoza said. “But no one cares. We were ready to go. It turned out. We have to be ready to do it again tomorrow.”