Brewers 2, Mets 7: Let’s Be Honest, The Mets Needed This Win More Than We Did

[Jason Wang]

The Mets hit four home runs against starting pitcher Julio Teheran Tuesday night, on their way to a comfortable victory in the second game of the series.

Image courtesy of © Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets hit four home runs against starting pitcher Julio Teheran Tuesday night, on their way to a comfortable victory in the second game of the series.

Box Score

Starting Pitcher: Julio Teheran - 5.2 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 87 pitches, 59 strikes (67.8%)
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Willy Adames (.094), Christian Yelich (.018), Rowdy Tellez (.002) 
Bottom 3 WPA: Julio Teheran (-.211), Luis Urias (-.158), Blake Perkins (-.083) 

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Julio Gets Rocked For The First Time As A Brewer
Julio Teheran has been rock-solid for Milwaukee all season, until this game. His first three innings were flawless, as he retired the first nine batters in a row, but the cracks started to show in the fourth inning.

Brandon Nimmo started things off with a leadoff home run to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Francisco Lindor would follow up with a home run of his own, bringing the Mets lead to 2-0. Teheran also gave up a single to Jeff McNeil and moved him to second on a balk, but got Tommy Pham to lineout to complete the inning.

The fifth inning was more trouble for Teheran, as Brandon Nimmo hit another home run, scoring himself and Daniel Vogelbach to bring the score to 4-0. To pile on the punishment in the sixth inning, Pete Alonso was hit by a pitch before stealing second base, eventually being sent home on a Tommy Pham double. After a Daniel Vogelbach home run to officially credit Teheran with seven earned runs, he was replaced by Peter Strzelecki.

As someone who prefers to pitch to contact, Teheran was due for a slight regression. With that approach, even a small mistake results in great contact for the opposing team. Despite his tough night, his season stats still stand at an impressive 2.85 ERA and 0.93 WHIP.

Bullpen Does Its Best
After a starter gives up seven runs, there’s only so much a few relievers can do. Strzelecki and Bryse Wilson did their best, giving up no earned runs in their combined 2 1/3 innings of work. While Strzelecki gave up hits to Starling Marte and Lindor, Wilson would be perfect, retiring his three assigned batters in order.

Late Rally Falls Short
After going scoreless for the first seven innings of the game, the Brewers finally got some offense going in the eighth, loading the bases after a single by William Contreras and two walks by Christian Yelich and Rowdy Tellez. Brian Anderson’s 2-RBI hit put Milwaukee’s first few runs on the board, but Joey Wiemer grounded out to halt the momentum.

The Brewers continue to struggle against lefties, posting an MLB-worst .646 aggregate OPS against them. The worst offenders?

1. Rowdy Tellez - .532 OPS, 40 PA
2. Brian Anderson - .543 OPS, 68 PA
3. Willy Adames - .565 OPS, 79 PA
4. Christian Yelich - .599 OPS, 82 PA

What’s Next? 
With the series now tied, Wade Miley will face Kodai Senga in the third game of the series. Both pitchers have been exceptional to watch this season, with Miley posting a 2.91 ERA over 52 2/3 innings pitched and Senga posting a 3.52 ERA over 76 2/3. We’ll see how the Brewers deal with Senga’s patented “ghost fork,” a pitch that boasts a frightening .093 xBA and 58.4 Whiff%.

The Cincinnati Reds continue to battle for first place, as they overtake the Brewers again for the NL Central lead, maintaining a 0.5 game lead while the Cubs remain 3.0 games behind Milwaukee.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TUE	TOT
Strzelecki	20	22	0	0	31	73
Milner	0	14	3	15	0	32
Peguero	0	3	19	6	0	28
Bush	9	19	0	0	0	28
Payamps	0	0	26	0	0	26
Williams	0	0	16	6	0	22
Houser	19	0	0	0	0	19
B Wilson	0	0	0	0	14	14

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