LIVE: Mets-Brewers NL Wild Card Series Game 2 (ESPN)

MILWAUKEE -- The Mets are one win away from their first postseason series victory since sweeping the Cubs in the 2015 NL Championship Series and the Brewers are one loss away from a fifth consecutive first-round postseason exit.

In a short series, it can happen that quickly.

The Mets’ 8-4 victory in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series sets up the teams for an elimination game on Wednesday night, with a pair of former Oakland A’s teammates set to face off on the mound in New York’s Sean Manaea and Milwaukee’s Frankie Montas. The Mets have traveled from Atlanta to Milwaukee to Atlanta and back to Milwaukee within the last week, but they’ll be plenty rested for a chance to advance.

“It’s hard to be tired when you’re playing playoff baseball,” third baseman Mark Vientos said.

In the brief history of the best-of-three Wild Card Series, teams winning Game 1 have gone on to advance 14 out of 16 times. Of the 10 teams to take Game 1 on the road, eight have won the series, including seven via sweep.

The Brewers will try to buck those numbers.

“We usually respond,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “That is one of the great things about this ballclub is they respond.”

When is the game and how can I watch it?

Game 2 is scheduled to begin at 7:38 p.m. ET/6:38 p.m. CT on ESPN. Jon Sciambi and Doug Glanville will have the call.

All games are available in the U.S. on MLB.TV (authentication to a participating Pay TV provider is required). Live games are also available in select countries outside the U.S. For full details, click here.

Who are the starting pitchers?

Mets: The Mets will send Manaea, their best regular-season pitcher, to the mound for Game 2. The left-hander's season changed in late July, when he lowered his arm slot in an attempt to mimic Braves ace Chris Sale. From July 30 through Sept. 21, Manaea went 6-1 with a 2.63 ERA over 11 starts -- a run of excellence that the Brewers, of all teams, finally snapped in a six-run drubbing on Sept 27. Manaea hasn’t pitched since and will be working on regular rest in this one. He’s also looking to shake off a reputation for inconsistency in October; Manaea has been the losing pitcher in all three of his career postseason outings with a 15.26 ERA.

Brewers: Acquired from the Reds at the Trade Deadline, Montas made 11 Brewers starts with a 4.55 ERA -- which drops to a 3.95 ERA in 10 starts if you magically remove the one blow-up outing in that span, a seven-run outing against the D-backs in his next-to-last start of the regular season. Brewers coaches worked with the veteran on some mechanical adjustments that led to a velocity bump; four of his top six average fastball velos came after the trade, one of them in a Sept. 27 tune-up against the Mets in Montas’ final start.

What are the starting lineups?

Mets: Manager Carlos Mendoza took a calculated risk in starting Jesse Winker over J.D. Martinez at DH in Game 1, and Winker vindicated that faith with a two-run triple. But Winker doesn’t have quite the same track record vs. Montas that he did against Freddy Peralta. Mendoza went with Martinez, who pinch-hit for Winker in the fifth on Tuesday and delivered a two-run single.

1. Francisco Lindor, SS
2. Jose Iglesias, 2B
3. Mark Vientos, 3B
4. Brandon Nimmo, LF
5. Pete Alonso, 1B
6. J.D. Martinez, DH
7. Starling Marte, RF
8. Tyrone Taylor, CF
9. Francisco Alvarez, C

Brewers: Jackson Chourio started in the leadoff spot on Opening Day against the Mets at Citi Field, becoming the youngest player to make his Major League debut in a season opener as the leadoff man -- got all that? -- since Boston’s future Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr in 1937. Chourio later moved to the two-hole against righties but still bats leadoff against lefties, with switch-hitting Blake Perkins and right-handed-hitting Gary Sánchez often joining the lineup. The Brewers were 24-24 in games started by opposing left-handers in the regular season, including a win over Manaea in the final series.

1. Jackson Chourio, LF
2. Blake Perkins, CF
3. William Contreras, C
4. Willy Adames, SS
5. Gary Sánchez, DH
6. Rhys Hoskins, 1B
7. Sal Frelick, RF
8. Joey Ortiz, 3B
9. Brice Turang, 2B

• Chourio makes history, great catch -- and costly misplay -- in postseason debut

How will the bullpens line up after the starter?

Mets: The Mets will be in much better shape for Game 2 than they were in Game 1, now that closer Edwin Díaz and top setup man Phil Maton each received a day of rest. They should be available for at least an inning each, as should every Mets reliever other than José Buttó.

Brewers: By virtue of clinching the NL Central with more than a week remaining in the regular season, the Brewers were able to get their bullpen lined up just right, which helped to explain Game 1 starter Freddy Peralta’s early hook. It didn’t work, and now Murphy heads into Game 2 having used reliable bridge reliever Joel Payamps for 14 pitches and electric lefty Aaron Ashby for 18, with victories needed the next two nights. The Brewers still have plenty of good arms, since they didn’t use closer Devin Williams, setup man Trevor Megill or lefty Jared Koenig in Game 1. That’s thanks to right-hander Aaron Civale, a starter in the regular season, giving the Brewers three scoreless innings in his first bullpen appearance as a professional.

Any injuries of note?

Mets: Lindor continues to play at less than 100 percent after suffering a lower-back injury in mid-September, but it hasn’t obviously affected his play in recent days. Barring a setback, he’ll continue to start at shortstop every day.

Brewers: Frelick shocked his own manager by being available not only to play in this series, but start Game 1 after suffering a bone bruise in his left hip during the final series of the regular season. Frelick looked relatively unaffected for most of the night, including on his double to spark a go-ahead rally in the fourth inning.

Who is hot and who is not?

Mets: Vientos has five multi-hit efforts in his last 11 games. That includes a Game 1 barrage that saw Vientos single twice, score twice and knock home a pair of runs. Keep an eye also on Martinez, if he plays. Since busting out of a career-worst 0-for-36 slump, he’s hit safely in three straight games.

Brewers: Turang is 8-for-19 over his last four games played including a three-hit effort in Game 1, when Turang became the fifth Brewers player with multiple doubles in a postseason game. The last to do it was Jesús Aguilar in Game 6 of the 2018 NLCS.

Anything else fans might want to know?

• Brett Baty is one of three players on the Mets’ taxi squad in Milwaukee. He hasn’t appeared in a Major League game since June 9 and won’t do so this series, unless one of his teammates gets injured. But just being here is an achievement for Baty, who lost his September callup opportunity when he fractured his left index finger at the end of August.
• According to STATS, the Brewers are the first team in MLB history to blow a multi-run lead and lose in four straight postseason games.