The New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers meet again Thursday night at American Family Field. This time it’s winner-take-all, and the loser is heading into the offseason. The Mets are in an elimination game as they lost the bullpen battle in Wednesday night’s 5-3 win over the Brewers. The Brewers bullpen did not allow a run in 5 1/3 innings, while the Mets bullpen gave up three runs in three innings – all of them came against Phil Maton in the eighth.

Jose Quintana will start for the Mets, and Tobias Myers goes to Milwaukee. It’s essentially a rematch of the September 28 game, when the Brewers defeated the Mets 6-0 behind four scoreless innings from Myers out of the pen (the Brewers used an opener). Quintana struckout nine in the game, but lasted only 4 1/3 innings and gave up two runs. As with most elimination games, I expect the managers to be aggressive about pulling starters early if issues arise.

Quintana has pitched seven innings in his last two starts in September and has gone at least five innings in 16 of his last 18 starts. For the Brewers, Myers has gone exactly four innings in each of his last three starts during his rookie campaign.

I’d expect a big key on Thursday night to be more of the same: Which bullpen will hold up for the at least four innings each team will likely ask them to throw?

To better answer this question, we need to know who has the latest weapons and how managers can best use them.

Gregory Fisher-Imagn images

Mets Bullpen

RHP Edwin Diaz

• Last threw on Monday when he threw 40 pitches the day after 26 pitches.
• It was told to be ready for four outs on Wednesday, but was never used.
• Imagine him being available for at least four outs in Game 3.

RHP Phil Maton

• On Wednesday, he threw twenty pitches when he gave up three runs.
• Has thrown in four of the last five days.
• Mets will likely try not to use Maton in Game 3.
• Maton said he will be ready to go again.

RHP Ryan Stanek

• Has pitched in the Mets’ last two games, but only threw 25 pitches total.
• Has not pitched in three straight games this season.
• Pitched in three straight games during the 2021 World Series.

RHP Jose Butto

• Threw two scoreless innings on 25 pitches on Tuesday.
• Has never pitched on one day of rest after throwing two innings.
• Only thrown three times on one rest day this season; opponents have a .902 OPS.

RHP Reed Garrett

• Threw a scoreless inning on just 12 pitches on Wednesday.
• He threw back-to-back seven times this season; opponents have a .906 OPS.

LHP Danny Jong

• Last pitched against the Brewers on Friday and Saturday, totaling one inning on 28 pitches.
• Posted an ERA of 10.57 in September.

RHP Adam Ottavino

• Pitched a scoreless inning in both sides of Monday’s doubleheader.
• Recently struck out three in 1 1/3 scoreless innings against the Brewers.
• Only scored once in his last ten appearances.

RHP Huascar Brazoban

• Threw 35 pitches in both DH games on Monday.
• Has a 5.14 ERA in 19 games with Mets.
• Threw back-to-back scoreless innings against the Brewers in July.

RHP Max Kranick

• Last pitched on September 22 with Triple-A Syracuse.
• Hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2022.

Wildcards for Mets

LHP David Peterson

• Threw seven scoreless innings against the Brewers on Sunday.
• Has 16 relief experience in majors, most recently in 2023.
• Lefties have just a .576 OPS against him this season.
• Imagine if Mendoza finds a way to use Peterson tonight.

RHP Luis Severino

• Threw 105 pitches in six innings Tuesday vs. the Brewers.
• Andy Martino reports that Severino could be used for one inning on Thursday.

Photo by Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Brewers Bullpen

RHP Devin Williams

• Threw a scoreless inning on 10 pitches last night.
• Five of his 22 appearances this season have been without rest; Opponents’ OPS is .497.
• Has thrown just three times since September 22nd.

RHP Trevor Megil

• Threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings on 22 pitches last night. First outing since September 27.
• Has thrown just three times since September 21st.
• Has nine appearances without rest this season; opponents have a .633 OPS.

RHP Joel Payamps

• Threw a scoreless inning on 17 pitches on Wednesday.
• Has thrown a total of 31 pitches over the past two days.
• Hasn’t thrown three straight days this year.

LHP Aaron Ashby

• Gave up two runs without recording an out against Mets on 18 pitches on Tuesday.
• He has pitched just three times since September 22nd.
• Has recorded more than three outs in 75% of his relief appearances.

RHP Nick Mears

• Threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings on 12 pitches against the Mets on Tuesday.
• The previous outing was one scoreless inning against the Mets on Saturday.

LHP DL-Hal

• Last pitched on Sunday with two scoreless innings against the Mets.
• Made seven starts and six relief appearances this season.

LHP Jared Koenig

• Used seven pitches to record two outs on Tuesday.
• Has thrown three times since September 22nd.
• Had a 2.47 ERA in 62 regular season innings this year.

RHP Joe Ross

• Last night we went 1 1/3 scoreless on just 12 pitches.
• The previous outing was three scoreless against the Mets on Friday.
• The former starter pitched once this season on zero days of rest; opponents went 3-for-5.

Wildcards for brewers

RHP Freddy Peralta

• Game 1 starter Freddy Peralta threw just 68 pitches Tuesday, compared to 105 for Severino.
• The Brewers don’t have a bulk guy available like the Mets do with Peterson because Aaron Civale threw three innings on Tuesday.

All in all, this final game of the 2024 Wild Card matchups could come down to the buttons each manager pushes with his pitching staff. We’ve already seen it in the series. In Game 1, it felt like that Pat Murphy Freddy Peralta was taken out too early, and in Game 2, Mendoza pulled Manaea on just 86 pitches, leaving Maton behind for far too long.