Joey Ortiz drove in three runs for the Milwaukee Brewers, while the New York Mets managed only two hits, leading to a 6-0 loss that dealt a blow to their playoff hopes on Saturday night.
New York (87-72) lost its third game in a row and fell one game behind Atlanta (88-71) in the NL wild card race, as the Braves won 2-1 against Kansas City thanks to a walk-off homer from former Met Travis d’Arnaud in the ninth inning.
The Mets received some help later that night when Arizona lost 5-0 to San Diego. The Braves, Mets, and Diamondbacks (88-73) are all fighting for the final two wild-card spots in the NL.
“It’s a really short runway, but we do have three games, and three games are opportunities for us,” Mets first baseman Pete Alonso said. “In order for us to get where we need to go, we need to capitalize on opportunities.”
Both the Mets and Braves have tiebreaker advantages over the Diamondbacks. If their postseason situations are still unclear, the Mets and Braves would play a doubleheader on Monday in Atlanta.
“Not winning the past couple of days is putting us in a difficult situation here,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’ve got to come back and we have to win a game tomorrow. That’s the bottom line. And then see where we’re at at the end of the day tomorrow, and then go to Atlanta and see what we’ve got.”
Ortiz put the Brewers ahead 2-0 in the fourth inning with a bases-loaded single, hitting a curveball from Jose Quintana (10-10) into left-center.
Milwaukee extended its lead in the eighth inning by scoring four runs against Reed Garrett, who had not allowed any runs since August 18. This scoring included an RBI single by Willy Adames, a bases-loaded walk by Ortiz, and a two-run single by Andruw Monasterio.
The NL Central champion Brewers improved to 12-1 in their last 13 games against the Mets, including a perfect 5-0 this season. The Brewers have also successfully stolen 17 bases against the Mets without being caught, adding two more stolen bases on Saturday.
“We’ve had fight all season,” Ortiz said. “It doesn’t matter who’s on the other side of the field or the position they’re in. We’re worried about ourselves and that day.”
Quintana and four relievers combined to strike out 18 batters, which is their highest in a nine-inning game since they struck out 20 against Pittsburgh on September 18, 2022. However, New York was shut out for the first time since August 23 and was held to two hits or fewer for just the fifth time this year.
This was the third time the Brewers struck out at least 18 times in a nine-inning game, but it was the first time they won despite that.
Jose Iglesias had a single in the first inning, extending his hitting streak to 19 games, and Starling Marte hit a ground-rule double in the fifth. The only other time the Mets got a runner on base was when Iglesias walked in the ninth inning.
Quintana (10-10) came into the game with 22 2/3 consecutive shutout innings. He struck out nine batters while allowing two runs, five hits, and two walks in 4 1/3 innings.
After Milwaukee’s Jared Koenig pitched a scoreless first inning as the opener, Tobias Myers (9-6) took over and struck out five while giving up one hit and no walks in four innings.
Joel Payamps, Aaron Ashby, Nick Mears, and Devin Williams each pitched one inning without allowing a hit.
“Sometimes days like these are going to happen,” Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo said. “It’s unfortunate that it’s happening right now, but all you can do is pick it up, shoot your shots the next day, and hope it turns around. You put in your preparation and then you send it.”
After the Brewers took the lead in the fourth inning, Marte led off the fifth with a double and moved to third when Luis Torrens grounded out. Marte was left stranded at third after Myers retired Harrison Bader on a line drive to third and Luisangel Acuña on a fly ball to right field.
