The Mets' skid hits five after a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to the Brewers on Aug 8. Starling Marte was thrown out at home to end a ninth-inning rally.
StatPro MLB Beat Reporter
If the Mets needed a jolt to shake out of a slump, Friday night provided the opposite: a gut-punch finish. Down 3-2 in Milwaukee, Starling Marte raced for home on Jeff McNeil’s ninth-inning single, only to be cut down by a perfect throw from Brewers center fielder Blake Perkins to end the game. Five straight losses, a 63-53 record, and a 3.5-game gap behind the Phillies is where the Mets wake up on Saturday—with urgency rising and a new pitching plan ready to go.
“Perkins’ strike to the plate ends it—and the Mets’ skid hits five as the NL East gap holds at 3.5 games.”
It was set up for a cathartic rally. Marte led off the ninth with a single, McNeil followed with one of his own, and suddenly the tying run was 90 feet away with the lineup turning over. But Perkins’ laser to the plate slammed the door, and the Mets were left to wear another one-run road loss. It’s the kind of play that not only flips a game, it tests a team’s poise during a rocky stretch. The Brewers, winners of seven straight, made a play; the Mets paid for an aggressive send.
Kodai Senga’s line—5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 7 K—was good enough to win most nights. The outing turned on a fifth-inning fielding miscue that opened the door for Brice Turang’s two-run homer. Otherwise, Senga largely kept Milwaukee off-balance, flashing the swing-and-miss stuff that anchors this rotation. In a week where everything feels tilted, the right-hander still looked like a stabilizer. The defense behind him simply has to be cleaner.
Juan Soto’s first-inning solo homer (his 27th) and Marte’s second-inning blast (his 18th) provided all of the Mets’ scoring. After that, traffic was limited until the ninth. Pete Alonso still leads the club with 25 homers and 91 RBIs, while Soto sits at 27 and 65, but the recent theme holds: it’s tough to string together quality at-bats on the road when the lineup leans on the long ball and the defense gives away outs. Two swings kept them close; none finished the comeback.
Ronny Mauricio was out of Saturday’s starting lineup, with Jeff McNeil at second and Brett Baty at third. No injury here—this looks like a matchup call and a chance to reset a young player amid the skid. McNeil’s bat-to-ball and Baty’s improving strike-zone control are aimed at adding more quality plate appearances and infield stability behind a staff that’s been asked to do heavy lifting.
The Mets will turn to Reed Garrett to open, with Frankie Montas Jr. lined up to take the bulk. The logic is clear: let a high-octane reliever attack the top of the order once, then hand Montas a cleaner runway to work deeper without multiple early looks for Milwaukee. It also spreads the workload for a bullpen that’s been busy in tight games during the skid. The risk? If Garrett’s frame runs long or Montas doesn’t settle quickly, it can stress the middle relief. The reward is controlling matchups and buying the offense a chance to play from ahead.
Reinforcements continue to trend the right direction. Paul Blackburn delivered a solid 5.1-inning rehab start as he builds back from a shoulder issue, while at Triple-A Syracuse, Brandon Sproat punched out nine over six scoreless in a win—his best indicator yet that he’s knocking on the door. Binghamton was rained out, but Brooklyn and St. Lucie got strong outings from A.J. Ewing, Randy Guzman, and Simon Juan. In a stretch where the big club needs answers, the pipeline is showing them. If the opener plan stabilizes things, the Mets can be deliberate with timelines; if not, Sproat’s name will only get louder.
The Mets are 63-53, still second in the NL East and 3.5 back of the Phillies as the Brewers ride seven straight wins. The formula to stop the slide isn’t complicated: clean up the free outs, cash in the high-leverage chances, and avoid giving good teams extra bases. Friday showed the margins are thin; Saturday needs to show the Mets can control them.
Tonight in Milwaukee, it’s about halting the spiral. The opener-to-bulk plan offers a tactical reset, the lineup shuffle aims for more contact, and the mandate is simple: play crisp, run smart, and turn opportunities into runs. One clean, authoritative win changes the temperature of this road trip—and with the Phillies still within reach, there’s no time like now to flip the script.
