MILWAUKEE — The Mets are losing crucial games here, but at least they are picking up useful info.
The most obvious knowledge they’ve gathered so far is this: If they are lucky enough to qualify for the playoffs — and yes, despite not winning once on this trip, they remain very much alive — it’s best to avoid the Brewers.
Baseball’s spunky little team from arguably its smallest market (tied with Cincinnati) continues to torment the Mets. Even when the Brewers — already set as the host of a Wild Card Series — are playing for just fun and giggles, the Mets can’t touch them.
Milwaukee handed the Mets their second defeat in two nights and third on an excursion where the lone highlight remains escaping Atlanta just before Hurricane Helene arrived — not that that’s a small thing. Beyond that, there really hasn’t been much to see.
Mets owner Steve Cohen, who attended the game here Friday and is planning to be back for Sunday’s finale, flew to New York for the 50th reunion of his Great Neck North High graduating class Saturday. He made the right call.
The Mets gathered just two hits against a collection of little-known but well-armed Brewers hurlers in a 6-0 wipeout. Yet somehow, the team from Queens still controls its destiny in the race that seems less impressive by the loss. The more they lose, the better things get, it seems. Apparently, this is the new Mets math.
Truthfully, they can thank the Diamondbacks for their undeserved good fortune. The Mets hold the all-important tiebreaker over Arizona, who are also seemingly on a defeat-a-day pace.
“We just need to be better … Today our effort wasn’t good enough,” Pete Alonso said. “Thankfully, we’ve got tomorrow, and we’ve got two more days in Atlanta.” (Hard as it is to believe, they could potentially clinch a playoff spot Sunday, and in that case wouldn’t even need to head south.)
If the Mets don’t make it, they have no one to blame but themselves. The Brewers employed a bullpen game Saturday, and while that sounds like a potential plus for the Mets, they do have one of the NL’s most dynamic pens (maybe almost as good as the Padres, the other team the Mets may play if they get in).
Thanks to the weather disaster, and the two rainouts incurred, the Mets don’t know yet how many more games they will have to play. As fortunate as it is stunning, a Mets win and D’Backs loss on Sunday punches New York’s ticket to October.
But fairly, the Mets’ issues outnumber the remaining games at this point — whether that’s one, two or three more games. We won’t list all the keys to the finish here. But we will say this: They need their big names to start hitting like they can.
Mark Vientos and Jose Iglesias, both minor leaguers to start the season, are consistently their most productive hitters after MVP candidate Francisco Lindor. Good for them. But that’s not the way it should be.
The Mets offense is upside down now. While Vientos and Iglesias star, the big names and earners need to earn their keep. Alonso and Brandon Nimmo are having statistically so-so seasons, and J.D. Martinez’s numbers are even worse.
The three biggest and best-paid stars in particular need to start doing some heavy lifting. (We’ll excuse Martinez from this short list, as he’s 0 for his last 35, and unlikely to make the lineup anytime soon.)
3 Nimmo might be the unluckiest hitter in baseball. He’s doing some clutch things (he’s fourth in the NL in win probability added) but he keeps hitting them where they are. He said he “likes where he’s at” but he was a typically unlucky 0-for4.
2. Francisco Lindor has been their MVP all year, and now is the time they need him most.
He missed most of a fortnight with a painful back situation but is back playing now. He’s very tough but says it’s uncomfortable bending over, so he DHed Saturday. In his new role, he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Even Lindor at three-quarter speed is still a threat. The MVP is out now that Shohei Ohtani showed he’s superhuman, but Lindor can carry them, even at less than full strength.
1. Alonso’s 34 home runs rank him among NL leaders, but by his previous standards his platform year is unquestionably below his norm. He also is looking for a signature moment.
Now might be a good time, Pete.
The Mets are still in better position than Arizona, so believe it or not, their chances remain better than 50-50. But they have to win at least one game — whether that’s here Sunday or back in Atlanta.
“We’ve got to find a way,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.
If they don’t punch their playoff ticket Sunday, they will have to do it the hard way, via an unwanted, uncomfortable trip to Atlanta on Monday. This team hasn’t made things easy all year, but they do have the talent to get this done — even in their least favorite place.