NL WILD CARD SERIES: METS VS BREWERS

October 1, 2024

Carlos Mendoza

American Family Field

New York Mets

Postgame Press Conference

Mets - 8, Brewers - 4

Q. Carlos, coming in, there's a lot of thought -- I think a lot of people thought you'd be tired coming here after we went through the last few days. Do you think it worked the opposite way? Maybe you guys fed off the momentum of what's happened here?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Yeah, it's a playoff game. Everybody's tired. But once you play ball, you've got to go.

It's going to be electric. It's going to be loud. That was the case today. And you've just got to feed off that. So there's no excuses.

I think everybody's been through it. We're not the only one. Yeah, we went back to Atlanta, played a doubleheader, came back here, but nobody cares.

We were ready to go, it showed, and we've got to be ready to do it again tomorrow.

Q. Just kind of on that, were you wondering at all after -- as emotional as it was yesterday, the way the game went, the celebration, if there would be any like hangover effect from that? What did you see on the plane and at the ballpark this morning to show you that the guys were fine?

CARLOS MENDOZA: I knew we were in a good spot when we boarded the plane. We celebrated. We got out of the clubhouse in Atlanta, and you could tell right away our mentality was next day, next game. Not thinking too far ahead, continue to have that type of mentality that we've been having throughout the whole year, one day at a time, one series at the time.

That's what I saw yesterday. Got here today, and we treated it just as a regular day, with the way our preparation goes and the conversations, meetings outside work, and we went out there and played our game.

Q. There were two occasions today where you guys fell behind and immediately came back to take the lead in the next half inning. Always important to do something like that, but especially in a road playoff game to be able to take the momentum away and not necessarily let the crowd get into it. How much more critical is something like that?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Yeah, those are some key moments. They take the lead, and we answer right back. I thought today the at-bats were pretty incredible. That inning with Vientos' leadoff and the walk to Pete, you know, Winkler coming through and just continue to add on.

Yeah, you're right because they punch, we punched back. They took the lead again, and then we were able to bounce back and continue to punch and just continue to stay aggressive.

We put the ball in play when we needed. We ran the bases well. We put pressure on them. The hustle by Iglesias there, and then Taylor not stopping and just scoring on that play.

Yeah, important in games like this when the crowd is involved, they were pretty loud today, and we expect it to be the same way moving forward here. It's a playoff, and it was a good job by the guys today.

Q. You guys have been really good with two outs all year long, and in that fifth inning to be able to put five runs on the board with two outs, what is it about your lineup in these big moments that you mentioned that you could come together as a group to keep the line moving as opposed to one or two guys?

CARLOS MENDOZA: We have a deep lineup. We can beat you in a lot of different ways. When we have guys rolling, we not only control the strikeout, we have guys that can get on base, we have guys that can hit the ball out of the ballpark, but we also have the ability to put the ball in play when we need to, use the whole field if we need to. That's what happened today.

Iglesias with two strikes, I think it was two outs, Nimmo tough left on left matchup, staying in there, putting the ball in play, not trying to do too much, using the whole filed, gets the infield single. J.D. with two strikes, not trying to do too much, professional hitter, let me put it in play, let me go the other way. Vientos, same way.

Like I said, not only do we have the ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark, but just having awareness of the situation, and I thought we did a really good job today.

Q. Carlos, what did you think of Seve today, especially after that first inning where he started and then he really responded? What did you think?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Yeah, he battled. They made him work. That first inning, we don't make a play first batter of the game, and a couple of ground balls got through, and he kept making pitches. They didn't chase. He was just missing in the strike zone, and they didn't chase. They force him in the zone.

But he grind through it, and then he settle in nicely. For him to give us seven, especially where we were at bullpen-wise today, it was huge for us. He's been in these situations before. He likes to be in those moments. He knows the situation. He knows what's at stake. He did it.

I was having conversations with him, and he went out there and continued to make pitches and gave us a solid six innings.

Q. Carlos, you mentioned how loud it gets in here and the cheering in those early innings. Can you guys feel it when you suck the air out of a building like you guys did and kind of turn it?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Yes.

Q. Does that give you guys energy by reversal like that?

CARLOS MENDOZA: I don't think we need that. We control the things we need to control. And when we go out there and play our game, good things will happen.

Like I said, they're going to be loud, and they will continue to be loud. We've just got to control our emotions and just play our game, and we did that today.

Q. In the fourth inning, Severino had blown the lead, they had two more runners on in scoring position, Buttó was in the bullpen, Helfaer went out. How close were you to pulling Severino? One more hit or --

CARLOS MENDOZA: I don't necessarily recall, but I was -- knowing that I was kind of short on the back end today with some of our high leverage relievers, I don't think I needed to be as aggressive, but also understanding it's only three games. So I can let the game get away.

I was just going to let it play out, but I needed to have somebody ready. I'm just glad he continued to make pitches, and he found a way.

Q. After the fourth, coming off another long inning there, how committed were you immediately to leaving him in for the fifth versus sending him back out after a long five-run rally?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Yeah, I think at that point, it was either batter to batter, maybe two guys get on. I was just going to let it play out. Like I said, he found his rhythm, and he found a way and gave us a solid six.

Q. Within 24 hours, you faced two pretty tough bullpens, the Braves and the Mets, the Brewers. What does it say about your team's tenacity?

CARLOS MENDOZA: Yeah, no doubt about it. Yesterday against the Braves, not only the starters, but they're high leverage guys, and we were able to get to them. Today this was a really good bullpen, and we were able to put together some really good at-bats.

We've got good hitters. We stick to our approach today. Not all the time it's going to happen because they're really good. I'm just glad we were able to execute today. We've got to do it again tomorrow.

Q. Could you have used Diaz if you needed him tonight?

CARLOS MENDOZA: No, he was done.

Q. Just how surprised were you that they pulled Peralta? And then how encouraging was it that you were able to kind of work and tax a lot of their bullpen?

CARLOS MENDOZA: I wasn't surprised. They've been aggressive the whole year, and they've got a good bullpen. That's the way Pat manages his club, and we were ready for it. We know that they're going to be aggressive.

Those guys, there's a reason why they're a really good ball club is because their pitching, their defense, their bullpen is legit, and I'm just glad we were able to get to them today.