2024 NL Wild Card preview

162 games later, and the Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season is finished. It took all 162 for the National League (NL) to determine its playoff teams, but the postseason stage is finally set.

A Mets-Braves doubleheader split on Sept. 30 sent Arizona packing and secured both clubs a Wild Card spot.

Mets at Brewers

The NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers host the No. 6 seeded New York Mets in a three-game Wild Card series. Winners of 93 games, the Brewers have quietly been one of the better teams in the entire league.

The Mets started this season 22-33 and looked dead in the water. After keeping around key pieces like Pete Alonso at the trade deadline, they made a miraculous midseason turnaround to earn a playoff spot.

The Brewers have a very balanced offense and manufacture many of their runs. They have the second most stolen bases in baseball while being below average in extra-base hits.

This team relies on walks, steals and singles to win ball games. If the Mets can limit the free bases given out to the Brewers, they might be able to handicap their offense.

The Mets are the more vulnerable team coming into this series. They have a top-10 offense, while their pitching staff is below average.

If the Brewers can find a way to slug Mets pitching, their fantastic pitching staff should be able to hold down the Mets’ offense.

Game one will see Luis Severino (3.91 earned run average (ERA)) for the Mets face off against Brewers’ Freddy Peralta (3.68 ERA)

The winner of the Mets-Brewers series will face the No. 2 seeded Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Divisional Series (NLDS) starting on Oct. 5.

Braves at Padres

The Padres secured the top Wild Card spot in the NL and returned to the postseason after being left out last year. The Braves make the playoffs for the seventh straight season, but this will be their first appearance in that stretch without winning the NL East.

After trading superstar Juan Soto in the offseason, many thought this Padres team would once again miss the playoffs. Instead, this turned out to be one of the best seasons for the franchise since 1998, when they made the World Series.

Leading all of baseball in total hits, the Padres are masters of putting the ball in play. This offense will be tested, however, as they face the Braves, who boast the best pitching staff in all of baseball.

That being said, this Braves pitching staff is currently very vulnerable. Atlanta’s current ace Chris Sale will miss the Wild Card series with an injury, while Reynaldo López may not pitch due to rest.

To make matters worse, Atlanta’s offense has been no better than average all year. This will make things very difficult as if their staff gives up a lot of runs, it will be grueling to mount a serious comeback.

If the Padres can take advantage of Atlanta’s starting rotation, they will likely get a rematch of the 2022 NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Atlanta has yet to announce a game-one starter, while the Padres will throw Michael King (2.95 ERA) in a pivotal first game.

The winner of the Braves-Padres series will face the No. 1 seeded Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS starting on Oct. 5.

Carter Brooks is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email cjb7448@psu.edu.