PHILADELPHIA -- When the New York Mets begin their National League Division Series on Saturday afternoon against the Philadelphia Phillies, they will hope to author another chapter in what is fast becoming a storybook season.

The Mets advanced to the NLDS when Pete Alonso keyed a four-run rally in the ninth inning Thursday night by slugging an opposite-field three-run homer, lifting New York to a 4-2 victory over host Milwaukee in Game 3 of the teams' wild-card series.

"You go through those scenarios as a little kid," Alonso said. "It's like, ‘Alright, you're in the playoffs, you're down by two runs.' I don't know. Words can't explain it."

The Mets managed just two hits in the first eight innings and entered the ninth in a 2-0 hole. But Francisco Lindor coaxed a leadoff walk from Brewers closer Devin Williams, and one out later Brandon Nimmo grounded a single through the middle.

That set the stage for Alonso, who since Sept. 19 was in a 5-for-41 slump and had not managed an extra-base hit. The right-handed slugger worked the count to 3-1, then lined Williams' changeup over the right field fence to give the Mets the lead.

Later in the inning, Starling Marte singled home Jesse Winker, accounting for the final margin.

It was the latest bit of heroics by the Mets, who qualified for the postseason by beating Atlanta 8-7 in the first game of a doubleheader Monday on Lindor's two-run ninth-inning homer. They used a five-run fifth inning to beat Milwaukee in Game 1 of their series, then saw the Brewers come from behind to win Game 2 5-3.

The Mets were just 24-35 on June 2, but went 65-38 thereafter to finish 89-73, six games behind the Phillies in the National League East. This is the teams' first postseason meeting.

The Phillies will send their ace, ex-Met Zack Wheeler, to the mound Saturday. Wheeler thrust himself into the NL Cy Young Award conversation by going 16-7 in the regular season, with a 2.57 ERA and 224 strikeouts in 200 innings.

"You always get nervous," Wheeler said Friday of postseason appearances, "but once you get out there you kind of settle down a little bit, kind of forget about (the fans) and just do your normal job."

The Mets will counter with right-hander Kodai Senga, who because of shoulder and calf injuries pitched one game all season -- a July 26 victory over Atlanta, in which he pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed two runs on two hits, one of them a homer. Senga, a native of Japan, went 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA as a rookie in 2023.

The Phillies have been among the best teams in baseball all season. Their victory total (95) was exceeded only by the Dodgers, who won 98, and their run differential (113) was fourth-best behind the Dodgers, Yankees and Brewers.

But while the Mets have played five games this week, the Phillies have been resting, playing only an intrasquad game on Wednesday.

History suggests that down time might not be the best thing. Of the eight teams to earn first-round byes in the first two years of the current playoff format, five were eliminated in the divisional round. Only one -- Houston, in 2022 -- won the World Series.

The Phillies were on the losing end in that series, and last year fell to Arizona in the National League Championship Series, a series in which they seized a 3-2 lead but surprisingly lost the final two games in their raucous home stadium.

They own a 12-4 home record the last two postseasons, and this year they won the season series from the Mets, 7-6. That includes a split of a two-game series the teams played in London in June. New York did, however, win three of the teams' last four meetings.

--Gordie Jones, Field Level Media