MILWAUKEE—The Mets took a huge risk throwing a pitcher whom hadn’t thrown more than 2.1 IP in a game this season. It came back to bite them and the way they had to use their bullpen.
Both pitching staffs had awful nights and it was a game that felt as if it lasted five-plus hours.
It started well for the Mets in the first inning when they took a 1-0 lead on a Reyes run. After Reyes walked to leadoff the game, stole second, and moved to third on a groundout, Jason Bay doubled him home.
Fernando Nieve though, didn’t have a great game or opening inning. In the first, after retiring the first two batters, it all caved in on him. He allowed a double and two walks, before giving up a grand slam to last night’s hero Corey Hart, as the Brewers took a 4-1 lead after one.
The Mets got a run back in the second on a Jose Reyes RBI single. The Brewers though would answer that in the second when George Kottaras hit a home run off Nieve, making it 5-2.
The Mets added another run in the third on a Rod Barajas groundout to shortstop, cutting the deficit to 5-3. The Mets would get burned by Corey Hart once again in the third, as Oliver Perez—relieving Nieve—gave up a two-run home run to him. After that at-bat, Hart had gone 3-for-3 with three home runs and eight RBI in his last three at-bats, starting with the walk-off home run last night. That gave the Brewers a 7-3 lead after three innings.
The Mets would get three back in the fourth on an Ike Davis three-run home run, breaking out of a mild slump, cutting the lead to 7-6 and officially making it a slugfest. A Ryan Braun double play produced a run for Milwaukee in their fourth, extending their lead to 8-6.
With that Brewers run, it became the first time in Mets history that the Mets were involved in a game, where both teams scored runs in each of the first four innings. The funny thing about it is, nobody scored another run for the rest of the game.
The Mets had an opportunity though in the next inning—the fifth—to score some runs, but Jason Bay grounded out with the bases loaded to end the inning, as the Mets didn’t score.
Starting with that Jason Bay groundout, the Mets’ final 13 batters went down in order for the rest of the game against Brewers’ relievers Todd Coffey, Carlos Villanueva, and John Axford.
The Brewers would be held down over the final four innings by Mets’ relievers Elmer Dessens, Jenrry Mejia, and Ryota Igarashi.
So the Mets lose the game 8-6, along with losing another road series, meaning the Mets will enter June without a road series victory.
They also fall to four games out of first place with the Phillies 1-0 win over the Marlins. In that game, Roy Halladay threw the 20th perfect game in Major League history, and it became the first time in Major League history that there have been two perfect games in the same season.
The Mets will try and avoid the sweep tomorrow with R.A. Dickey on the mound, opposing Mets killer Randy Wolf.
Series probable pitchers:
May 30
New York: R.A. Dickey (2010: 1-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. Milwaukee: Randy Wolf (2010: 4-4, 4.52 ERA)
Upcoming schedule:
New York Mets:
May 30 @ Milwaukee Brewers
May 31-June 2 @ San Diego Padres
Milwaukee Brewers:
May 30 vs. New York Mets
May 31-June 3 @ Florida Marlins
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com