The collapse in the ninth inning makes the Brewers' recent playoff exit particularly painful

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Willy Adames had just finished perhaps his final game with the Milwaukee Brewers when he described the most devastating of that franchise's mounting playoff losses.

“Losing like that, when you're so close, is like being allowed to try candy as a kid, but they don't give you the candy,” Adames said after the Brewers' 4-2 loss to the New York Mets in the deciding Game 3 of their NL Wild Card Series on Thursday night. “They just let you try it. … That’s what it felt like tonight.”

The Brewers have mastered the art of consistently winning in the regular season while playing in the majors' smallest market. This was their sixth playoff appearance in seven years and third NL Central title in four seasons.

Success in the postseason remains hopeless.

They have lost 11 of their last 13 postseason games and have not won a playoff series since reaching Game 7 of the NL Championship Series in 2018. They made their only World Series appearance back in 1982 while playing in the American League, and never won it all.

“If you want to emphasize that, you have the right to do whatever you want to emphasize,” manager Pat Murphy said. “I want to point out that the Brewers organization has been in the postseason six out of seven years with not the biggest budget and, frankly, in a really small market. I think that's something to hang your hat on. I’m disappointed like everyone else, but things happen.”

Nothing good happened to the Brewers in the ninth inning.

The Brewers were leading 2-0 and had retired 12 straight Mets batters when they turned the game over to Devin Williams, a two-time NL reliever of the year who had allowed just three runs all season. He allowed four hits in the ninth, including a three-run home run off Pete Alonso that gave the Mets the lead for good.

“Everyone did their job except me,” Williams said. “I feel like I let everyone down.”

Milwaukee led the NL and ranked second in the majors with a bullpen ERA of 3.11, but this relief corps had an up-and-down streak.

The Brewers blew a 4-3 lead and lost 8-4 in Game 1 when Joel Payamps and Aaron Ashby combined to allow five runs in the fifth inning. The bullpen rebounded to throw 5 1/3 shutout innings in Game 2 as the Brewers rallied to win 5-3. Then Thursday came the ninth-inning collapse that left the Brewers stunned.

“After we lost, we stayed here for 15 minutes and no one moved from their chair,” Adames said. “Quiet. Calm. That shows that there is a special talent and a special chemistry between us. I've never been in a clubhouse with that chemistry. And to see that pain through everyone's eyes was kind of emotional.”

Things got particularly emotional when Bob Uecker, who has broadcast Brewers games for more than half a century, entered the clubhouse to offer congratulations and consolation to the players.

As much as the Brewers wanted to win a World Series for themselves and their fans, they also wanted to win it for the 90-year-old Uecker.

“The hardest part of the night for me by far was talking to Bob,” said outfielder Christian Yelich.

Yelich did not play in this series after undergoing season-ending back surgery this summer, one of the many hurdles the Brewers have overcome.

They lost manager Craig Counsell to the rival Chicago Cubs in the offseason. They traded 2021 Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles. Brandon Woodruff was never on the field all season as he recovered from shoulder surgery. Wade Miley and Robert Gasser's seasons ended due to Tommy John surgery.

But in late April, the Brewers took over first place for good, going 93-69 and winning the NL Central by 10 games.

“We have a lot to be proud of, right?” said first baseman Rhys Hoskins. “Exactly the state we were in at the start of the season and I guess the lack of expectations and what we were able to achieve all year. I don’t think that’s something that should be lost.”

Now the budget-conscious Brewers enter another offseason of uncertainty as they grapple with the possibility that Adames has ruled himself out of Milwaukee.

Adames, one of the team's emotional leaders, enters free agency having hit 32 home runs, driven in 112 runs and stolen 21 bases.

“The good news for Willy and his family is that I think the free agent contract for him will be very valuable and quite significant,” Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio said before the series. “And we will do what we can to develop ourselves, but others have deeper pockets. We’ll see what happens.”

Adames discussed his future after the game.

“I can’t tell you if it was or not,” Adames said. “I would love to be here next year and compete with my boys again. It would be great. It would be special.”

Even if the Brewers lose Adames and other key players, their track record suggests they will find a way to compete again. Many of their key contributors were freshmen and sophomores, most notably 20-year-old Jackson Chourio, a budding superstar who shined in the playoff spotlight, scoring twice in Game 2.

But they will spend the next few months regretting this missed opportunity.

“It felt like a tragedy,” Murphy said.

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