The New York Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers meet again on Thursday evening at American Family Field. This time it’s: The winner has to have it all and the loser is on his way to the offseason. The Mets are in an elimination game after losing the bullpen battle in the Brewers’ 5-3 win on Wednesday night. 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 coming against each other 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 Sept. 28 game, when the Brewers beat the Mets 6-0 behind four scoreless innings from Myers from the box (the Brewers took advantage of an opening hit). Quintana struck out 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 in pulling starters early if problems arise.

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

I expect Thursday night to be more of the same key theme: Which bullpen will last the minimum four innings each team will likely be asked to pitch?

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

Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Mets bullpen

RHP Edwin Diaz

• He last threw 40 pitches on Monday after throwing 26 pitches the day before.
• I was told he was supposed to be ready for four outs on Wednesday, but he never played.
• Imagine him being available for at least four outs in Game 3.

RHP Phil Maton

• Thrown 20 pitches on Wednesday when he gave up three runs.
• Has pitched in four of the last five days.
• Mets will likely try not to use Maton in Game 3.
• Maton said he was ready for action again.

RHP Ryan Stanek

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

RHP José Butto

• Thrown two scoreless innings on 25 pitches on Tuesday.
• Never pitched on a rest day after throwing two innings.
• Has only pitched on a rest day three times this season; Opponents have an OPS of .902.

RHP Reed Garrett

• Thrown a scoreless inning on just 12 pitches on Wednesday.
• He has pitched seven straight times this season; Opponents have an OPS of .906.

LHP Danny Young

• Most recently played against the Brewers on Friday and Saturday, totaling one inning on 28 pitches.
• Posted a 10.57 ERA in September.

RHP Adam Ottavino

• Pitched scoreless innings in both ends of Monday’s doubleheader.
• Recently pitched three over 1 1/3 scoreless innings against the Brewers.
• He has only scored once in his last 10 appearances.

RHP Huascar Brazoban

• Thrown 35 pitches in both DH games on Monday.
• Has a 5.14 ERA in 19 games with the Mets.
• Thrown two consecutive scoreless innings against the Brewers in July.

RHP Max Kranick

• Last pitched with Triple-A Syracuse on September 22nd.
• Has not competed in the majors since 2022.

Wild cards for Mets

LHP David Peterson

• Worked seven scoreless innings against the Brewers on Sunday.
• Has 16 appearances in majors, most recently in 2023.
• Lefties have just a .576 OPS against him this season.
• You have to imagine Mendoza finds a way to use Peterson tonight.

RHP Luis Severino

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

Photo by Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Brewers bullpen

RHP Devin Williams

• Got a scoreless inning on 10 pitches last night.
• There was no break in five of his 22 appearances this season; The opponents’ OPS is .497.
• Has only pitched three times since September 22nd.

RHP Trevor Megill

• Worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings on 22 pitches last night. First trip since September 27th.
• Has only pitched three times since September 21st.
• Has made nine appearances this season without a break; Opponents have an OPS of .633.

RHP Joel Payamps

• Thrown a scoreless inning on 17 pitches on Wednesday.
• Has thrown a total of 31 pitches in the last two days.
• Didn’t throw three days in a row this year.

LHP Aaron Ashby

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

RHP Nick Mears

• Thrown 1 1/3 scoreless innings on 12 pitches against the Mets on Tuesday.
• Saturday’s final outing against the Mets was a scoreless inning.

LHP DL Hall

• Most recently pitched two scoreless innings against the Mets on Sunday.
• Has made seven starts and six substitute appearances this season.

LHP Jared King

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

RHP Joe Ross

• Went 1 1/3 scoreless on just 12 throws last night.
• The last game on Friday ended in three scoreless games against the Mets.
• The former starter has pitched without days off once this season; Opponents went 3 for 5.

Wild cards for brewers

RHP Freddy Peralta

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

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