New York– It was certainly an interesting day in Flushing as a good win last night was followed up by a press conference from owner Steve Cohen to address the failures of the New York Mets this season. Cohen delivered a message that wasn’t entirely unexpected as he guaranteed the jobs of General Manager Billy Eppler and manager Buck Showalter through the season and openly admitted he would sell if the Mets don’t turn things around in the next month. The Mets (36-44) didn’t offer much of an incentive not to sell in the game that followed as they struggled with runners in scoring position in a 5-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers (42-38).
Kodai Senga ran into some early trouble as he allowed two men to reach in the first inning before long-time Mets’ nemesis Jesse Winker drove them home with a double to put Milwaukee in front. Tommy Pham got the Mets on the board in the second with a solo home run (8) off of Brewers’ starter Wade Miley but New York’s best opportunity came in the fourth inning.
The Mets loaded the bases with no one out against Miley and Francisco Alvarez drew another walk to force in a run and tie the game at 2. That would be all the Mets would generate, however, as Brett Baty struck out looking and Mark Canha grounded into an inning-ending double play. Milwaukee regained the lead in the top of the sixth when Blake Perkins drove in Owen Miller with an RBI single against Grant Hartwig (L, 0-1) to give the visitors a 3-2 lead.
Another rally formed in the eighth for the Brewers when Adam Ottavino allowed a two-out double to Brian Anderson and walked Perkins to put two men on. Ottavino should have been out of the inning on a strikeout of Joey Wiemer but home plate umpire Carlos Torres ruled that Wiemer was hit by the pitch in spite of the fact that Wiemer clearly swung the bat. The ruling loaded the bases for Milwaukee and Christian Yelich made Ottavino pay with a two-run single that snuck under the glove of Jeff McNeil to cap the scoring.
Player Of The Game:
Today’s Player of the Game Award goes to Brewers’ outfielder Christian Yelich, who went 3 for 5 with a double, a run scored and two key RBIs late in the game to tack on insurance runs for Milwaukee.
Post-Game Notes:
Senga fared much better on regular rest this time around, allowing just two runs on five hits over five innings while striking out eight.
Bryce Wilson (W, 3-0) tossed 1.2 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win for Milwaukee.
Devin Williams tossed a perfect ninth inning to record his 16th save of the season.
Mets’ manager Buck Showalter was ejected in the eighth inning for arguing with the umpires after Yelich’s RBI single. The ejection was the second in four games for Showalter.
Tommy Pham was the Mets’ most effective offensive player, going 3 for 3 with a home run, a walk and a stolen base.
T.J. McFarland made his Mets’ debut by tossing a perfect ninth inning.
Tonight’s result ensures the Mets will go the entire month of June without winning a series. The Mets have not won a series since sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game set that began at the end of May.
What’s Next:
The Mets will look to secure a split of their four-game series with Milwaukee tomorrow night. RHP Max Scherzer (7-2, 3.95 ERA) will face off with RHP Adrian Houser (2-2, 4.02 ERA) in the pitching matchup. First pitch for the finale is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. at Citi Field.
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