Rhys Hoskins hit a grand slam off Sean Manaea in the first inning, and the New York Mets saw their playoff chances hurt with an 8-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, who are the NL Central champions.
The Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Atlanta Braves are all competing for the last two National League wild card spots. The Mets and Braves both have 87-71 records after Atlanta defeated the Kansas City Royals 3-0 on Friday.
The Diamondbacks dropped to 88-72 after losing 5-3 to the San Diego Padres later that night.
“They kept fighting,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, who got ejected by plate umpire Ramon De Jesus after arguing a called third strike on Francisco Alvarez in the fourth inning. “We got down early, and we didn’t give up. Turn the page, and we’ve got to get ready for tomorrow.”
New York’s loss overshadowed the return of star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who went 2 for 4 with a walk and made an error in his first game since September 15. Lindor had played only one inning in the Mets’ last 10 games because of lower back pain.
While the Mets are still in the race for a postseason spot, the Brewers have already secured the No. 3 seed in the NL playoffs and will start a Wild Card Series on Tuesday in Milwaukee.
“We know what’s at stake this weekend for those guys,” said Hoskins, who has been a challenge for the Mets since his time with the rival Philadelphia Phillies.
“Obviously, we’re trying to do what we can to be as prepared as we can for Tuesday by playing good baseball, so to get off on the right foot in the first game of a series is huge for us.”
Hoskins’ grand slam was his third of the season, and it marked the 10th grand slam for Milwaukee this year, both tying franchise records.
The only other Brewers players to have three grand slams in a season were John Jaha in 1995, Devon White in 2001, and John Vander Wal in 2003. The Brewers also hit 10 grand slams in 1995.
Brice Turang had a strong game, going 3 for 4 with three runs and three of Milwaukee’s six stolen bases, raising his season total to 50. Gary Sánchez hit a home run late in the game.
The only other players in franchise history to steal at least 50 bases in a season are Tommy Harper (73 in 1969), Scott Podsednik (70 in 2005), Jonathan Villar (62 in 2016), and Pat Listach (54 in 1992). Harper’s 73 steals happened in the franchise’s first season when they were known as the Seattle Pilots.
“I’m not really chasing numbers — just chasing opportunities to put myself in a better situation to score a run,” Turang said.
Milwaukee has improved to 11-1 in their last 12 games against the Mets, including a perfect 4-0 record this year.
Hoskins’ grand slam gave the Brewers a quick 4-0 lead over Manaea, who had only allowed more than three runs in one of his last 12 starts. Manaea (12-6) gave up six runs—five earned—while pitching just 3 2/3 innings.
New York had won his last eight games. “We’re fighting for our lives over here, and to do that doesn’t feel good,” Manaea said. “But this team’s resilient.”
The Mets were down 5-0 when Mark Vientos hit a two-run homer off starter Frankie Montas in the third inning.
New York then had runners on first and second with two outs in the fourth when Alvarez had a tough 10-pitch at-bat before striking out on a 3-2 pitch that seemed a little low.
The Mets scored two runs against Hoby Milner in the eighth, reducing Milwaukee’s lead to 7-4, but a great catch by rookie Jackson Chourio in deep left-center limited the damage. Sánchez then added some cushion with a 425-foot home run to left off Alex Young in the bottom half.
Joe Ross (3-6) pitched three scoreless innings in relief to earn the win. Trevor Megill got the last out in the eighth and pitched a scoreless ninth to secure his 21st save out of 24 chances.
