Was this Pete Alonso's defining moment? Plus Terry Francona's surprise comeback

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Pete Alonso has hit 227 home runs in his career (including the postseason). Last night was perhaps the greatest of all. Plus: Terry Francona takes over in Cincinnati, Ken tells us about the huge turnover in Miami and we preview the four matchups in the Division Series. I am Levi Weaverhere with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!

Mets advance to NLDS: Peter Morgan Alonso.

Given Pete Alonso's sprint speed (19th percentile) and Devin Williams' penchant for ground balls (43.2 percent of batted balls), it's not unreasonable to say that the Milwaukee Brewers are just one pitch – a small double play – from advancing away in the NLDS were the Phillies.

Instead, with the score at 2-0 in Milwaukee, Alonso extended New York's season (and perhaps his time in a Mets jersey) by hitting a three-run home run on the opposite field, completely flipping the script. See if you can spot it in the win probability table here:

Ken's notebook: Marlins continue to clear staff

Out of my latest column:

The Miami Marlins continued layoffs across their organization this week, bringing the total number of employees laid off to more than 70, according to lists obtained by The athlete.

Further departures are possible after the contracts expire on October 31st. The Marlins told a number of employees, including major league coaches Luis Urueta and Jon Jay, that the team was interested in her return, sources said. However, decisions about the future of these employees will be left to new hires, including the next manager. Skip Schumaker, the 2023 National League Manager of the Year, left the organization after reaching an agreement with the club last offseason to waive the 2025 option in his contract.

Major league teams typically experience turnover toward the end of each season, and this turnover typically accelerates when a new head of baseball operations takes control. Although changes were expected after the Marlins hired Peter Bendix as president of baseball operations last November, few teams make such sweeping overhauls.

Bendix declined to comment, but a club official said the team will fill all vacant positions and also create new roles. The measures were intended to realign and restructure baseball operations and not to reduce costs.

The Marlins' purge began in mid-August when they parted ways with two assistant general managers, four field coordinators, their international scouting director and more than 10 scouts, as ESPN first reported. Another 31 employees, many of them in player development, lost their jobs in September. Major League coaches were among 23 who were told this week they would not return next season. The cuts also included the team's nutritionist, home clubhouse manager, travel secretary and others.

More sales: The Diamondbacks have parted ways with pitching coach Brent Strom, among others.

Kim Klement Neitzel / USA Today

He's Baaack: Terry Francona's Return

Not long after Alonso's home run, it was announced that Terry Francona, who retired as manager of the Guardians after the 2023 season, plans to return to the same role in the same state – just with a different team. He will be the Reds' new manager, replacing David Bell, who was sacked on September 22nd.

It's a surprising move. Francona struggled with a variety of health issues during his final four years with the Guardians, including extended absences in 2020 and 2021. As Zack Meisel notes in this story, Francona's message at the end of 2023 was that he “didn't expect this “to deal with it.” again. At least it was unforeseen news last night. The Reds are certainly gaining some experience in Francona. In his 23 years as manager of the Phillies, Red Sox and Guardians, he set a record from 1950 to 1672 that ranks as the 13th most wins of all time.

Here's a deeper look at how the surprising news came about.

Division Series Preview: What to know for the next round

Eight teams, four matches and it all starts tomorrow. Here's a quick preview of the Division series:

AMERICAN LEAGUE – Will the underdogs continue? (selection of personnel)

Tiger vs Guardian: It's almost pointless to look at these two teams' numbers over the entire season because – you may have heard – the Tigers' chances of making the playoffs had dropped to 0.2 percent as of August 11th. Here's a handy before and after comparison:

So if there is a surprise in this round… 👀

We also have stories today about both managers: Cody Stavenhagen on how AJ Hinch shut down his old club months after a team meeting in August, and Zack Meisel on the history of trash talk between Stephen Vogt and Guardians reserve coach Craig Albernaz . (1:08 p.m. ET, TBS)

Royals vs. Yankees: The simple storyline is the matchup between the likely top two finishers in the AL MVP race – Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. But we also see two lineups that are pretty top-heavy. The Yankees have the edge, with Juan Soto, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Giancarlo Stanton providing more length than Salvador Pérez and Vinnie Pasquantino.

The pitch is remarkably close. Sure, the Royals may have Judge's “kryptonite” from Game 1, but both teams finished the season with identical 3.76 ERAs. The Royals have a lot of work to do. (6:38 p.m. ET, TBS)

NATIONAL LEAGUE – Bitter rivals meet again

Mets vs. Phillies: The Mets have played the Phillies 1,082 times in the regular season. That's far more than any other team (the Braves are second on the list with 861 games). Tyler Kepner has an outstanding list of the rivalry's 10 most memorable moments. But they have never faced each other in the postseason this year.

The Phillies aren't a perfect team, but they were the second-best team in the Netherlands this year. A possible boost for New York: Kodai Senga could be back (albeit with limited availability). (4:08 p.m. ET, Fox)

Padres vs. Dodgers: It will be the third NLDS meeting between these NL West rivals in the last five years; Each team bounced the other once.

Led by 50/50 hero Shohei Ohtani, no team in baseball can match the star power of the Dodgers, period. But the Padres team has more than a few stars of its own and is hungry for the big moment. Advantage Dodgers, but not overwhelming. If San Diego has an advantage, it's pitching. Not only is their bullpen well-stocked, but they also have more healthy starters than the Dodgers right now. (8:38 p.m. ET, FS1)

Fabian Ardaya fills us in on the Dodgers' pitching plans (and Freddie Freeman's ankle).

Stream the MLB Playoffs on Fubo.

Handshakes and high fives

(Top photo: Benny Sieu / Imagn Images)