Brewers 6 Mets 0 (American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI)
Mets record: 87-72
Mets streak: Lost 3
WP - Tobias Myers (9-6)
LP - Jose Quintana (10-10)
Seat on the Korner:
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Joey Ortiz's three RBI, including the two that gave the Brewers the lead in the 4th inning, led the Brewers to victory as Johnny Wholestaff only allowed 2 hits to the Mets in another final week loss.
Need to Know
Combined with the Braves win over Kansas City, the Mets are now one game behind the Braves in the race for the final two wild card spots. But the Padres beating the Diamondbacks means that the Mets are tied with Arizona for the final spot.
If the Mets win and the Diamondbacks lose on Sunday, the Mets would clinch a playoff spot due to holding the tiebreaker vs the Diamondbacks
This was the 14th shutout for the Brewers this season.
The Mets were only able to muster two hits against a Brewers team that started an opener, but threw out most of their high leverage relievers.
The Brewers won despite striking out 18 times. Jose Quintana struck out 9 in his 4 and 1/3 innings of work, and Phil Maton struck out 4 in an inning and 2/3's.
Reed Garrett gave up four runs in the 8th to turn a close game into millions of people flipping to the most competitive college football game available.
Francisco Lindor went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts as the DH tonight while Luisangel Acuna played shortstop.
Francisco Alvarez returned to action tonight as he pinch hit in the 8th inning and struck out against Nick Mears.
Jose Iglesias' single in the first inning extended his hitting streak to 19 games, which is a career high.
Turning Point
With the lack of any offensive production from the Mets, there was really only one turn in the entire game, and it was in the 4th as a single by Willy Adames and two walks given up by Jose Quintana set up Joey Ortiz's time to shine.
Ortiz came to the Brewers in the trade for Corbin Burnes.
Three Keys
The Well Has Run Dry
... and at the worst possible time too.
Tobias Myers was excellent in his 4 and 1/3 innings of work tonight. striking out five and giving up one hit. But the rest of the Brewers struck out six and gave up one hit in the other 4 and 2/3's innings, so give them credit. But it's an unacceptable performance in a game the Mets had to have against a team that had zero to play for.
No Help From Kansas City
The teams that the Mets need to lose are playing teams that have no reason to put their foot on the gas. The Royals, for example, are only playing for seeding so they took out Seth Lugo (hey I remember him) after two innings.
But I don't think Michael Lorenzen throwing a ball to Alpharetta counts as "taking it easy."
It scored the tying run for the Braves to set up an exhilirating victory for them in the 9th.
Hey, I remember that guy too.
The Braves, who can't be eliminated on Sunday, can now save their Triple Crown leading Cy Young candidate Chris sale, and their rookie that the Mets can't seem to touch Spencer Schwellenbach for Monday's doubleheader. The Mets will definitely have to win one of these games to make the playoffs, and if things go awry on Sunday, both.
Best of luck.
Stay Clutch, San Diego
The Padres are another team that is locked in to their spot, but unlike the Brewers, there's no reason for them to play their Game 1 playoff lineup against the Diamondbacks on Saturday. This made it all the more invigorating to see that they helped out the Mets by beating Arizona and putting the two teams in a virtual tie.
Wins by Kansas City and/or San Diego on Sunday could mean the difference between having to win one game on Monday or two. Of course, it would help if the Mets could beat Milwaukee on Sunday as the Brewers will most likely be resting all the relievers that pitched tonight. The way the Mets are playing themselves, if they can't win tomorrow or hit Sale or Schwellenbach on Monday, the point is moot.