MILWAUKEE — When the Mets acquired Jesse Winker, few could have predicted how beloved he would become by the Mets fanbase.
Winker solidified his status as a fan favorite with a two-run game-tying triple in Game 1 of the Mets’ NL Wild Card series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday afternoon at American Family Field. The Brewers eventually pulled ahead again before the Mets came back with a five-run fifth inning to win 8-4.
Winker’s tying triple helped set the tone for it all.
“You’re fired up, it’s what you play the game for — to help a team win a game in the playoffs,” Winker said. “It’s so much bigger than yourself, it’s bigger than all of us. So there’s a ton of emotions, for sure.”
Winker spent much of last season in Milwaukee struggling to stay healthy. The back injuries that have plagued the outfielder for much of his career limited him to only 64 games with the Brewers and a .199 average. Still, the team included him on the playoff roster in their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but he went 0-for-2 in his only pinch-hit at-bats.
Apparently, the fans in Wisconsin haven’t forgotten. Winker was booed all weekend when the Mets played their final regular season series in Milwaukee, then booed again during team introductions. When he came up to the plate in the second inning with two on and none out, he was booed even louder.
He faced his former teammate, Freddy Peralta, making the right-hander work. Peralta threw Winker eight pitches, with the eighth being a full-count changeup that he sent to the right field corner. Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso started rounding the bases toward home, while third base coach Mike Sarbaugh waved his arms like a windmill, telling Winker to take third.
“Rounding first, I was watching Pete and Sarby the whole time,” Winker said. “As soon as I saw Sarby windmill, I focused my attention on second, and I’m like, ‘I’m going to third.’”
Winker appeared to have some words with shortstop Willy Adames on his way, though he denied saying anything while running the bases.
“If you all think I’m able to run and talk, you don’t know my athletic abilities,” Winker said. “Can’t do that.”
However, ESPN cameras captured Winker and Adames jawing at one another during the inning. Winker yelled some expletives to his own dugout, presumably to fire up the fans sitting behind it and to excite his own team. Adames, between second and third, insists that it was Winker who initiated the conversation.
“I don’t know what was going through his head but he just started saying some stuff and I said something back,” Adames said. “I think that’s the kind of player he is. It is what it is…
“That was surprising that he would say some stuff. I guess that’s part of his personality. It was kind of a surprise to me but we don’t back down.”
Winker chose not to comment on what was or was not said, or on his relationship with Adames.
“I don’t really want to speak on it,” Winker said. “I just want to focus on the game tomorrow.”
Winker might not be well-liked by his former team, but he’s found a fit with the Mets. A clubhouse character traded to a team that turned its season around by embracing fun, Winker fit in with the group right away.
The Mets and Brewers don’t exactly have a longstanding rivalry, but an incident at the start of the start of the season with Rhys Hoskins triggered tensions between the two teams.
The former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman slid hard into Jeff McNeil on Opening Day, leading to an altercation with McNeil. The benches and bullpens cleared and while no one was injured, former Mets reliever Johan Ramirez threw behind Hoskins later in the series. He was ejected and manager Carlos Mendoza was suspended.
Emotions tend to run high during the playoffs to begin with. The Mets have done well in managing emotions during a brutal week, so the directive from Mendoza is to let their game do the talking.
NOTES
Kodai Senga threw 25 pitches to hitters over the weekend in Port St. Lucie, hitting 95-96 on the gun and no tricep pain, as far as Mendoza knows. However, his availability for a potential NLDS is still unclear. There are questions as to whether or not the right-hander wants to pitch again this year, and how much he would be able to handle as well.
Infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil is still rehabbing his wrist in California while he waits for his wife, Tatiana, to give birth to the couple’s second child. He’s expected to rejoin the team after the birth and the Mets are hopeful he can be active for a later postseason round, should they advance.