Brewers 5, Mets 2: Late Hitting Surge Saves The Day

After being tied heading into the second half of the game, some timely hitting and lights-out pitching by the bullpen gave Milwaukee the win in the third game of their series in Queens. The Mets came unraveled in the eighth, and they might never ravel back up.

Image courtesy of © Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Brewers Video

Box Score

Starting Pitcher: Wade Miley - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 74 pitches, 40 strikes (54.1%)
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Christian Yelich (.194), Jesse Winker (.184), Blake Perkins (.122)
Bottom 3 WPA: Brian Anderson (-.125), Rowdy Tellez (-.110), William Contreras (-.065)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Miley Works In And Out Of Trouble
Wade Miley had some mixed results in his start, giving up two earned runs and having quite the tense fourth inning. After retiring the first four batters in a row, he gave up a solo home run to Tommy Pham in the second inning to bring the score to 2-1.

After retiring the Mets in order in the third inning, Miley opened the fourth with a walk of Francisco Lindor, a single by Pete Alonso, and a walk by Pham to load the bases with no outs. After a Francisco Alvarez walk to tie the game at 2-2, Miley knew he had to lock it in. He struck out Brett Baty and got Mark Canha to ground into a double play, limiting the damage to just one run and leaving the mound in triumph.

After a brutal 28-pitch workload for just one inning, the decision was made to replace Miley with Bryse Wilson; the bullpen would take us through the remainder of the contest. This was Miley's third start following his return from the injured list, so it makes sense that the team would be more conservative than not for the sake of longevity.

One funny moment of the game that was caught on the broadcast was this friendly umpire call that was received quite poorly by Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.

Relievers Roll Through Mets Lineup
Five relievers were used to finish the final five innings of the game: Wilson, Hoby MIlner, Elvis Peguero, Joel Payamps, and Devin Williams. Between the five of them, they’d give up four hits, zero walks, and strike out five batters. Not only were they unhittable, they were ruthlessly efficient. Peguero and Williams each recorded their three outs in fewer than 15 pitches.

Williams recorded his 15th save of the season, and continues to dominate on the mound, posting a 1.63 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. Did I mention his airbender is still one of the hardest pitches to hit in baseball? It currently boasts an opponent batting average of .140 and a Whiff% of 41.1, mostly due to its incomprehensible movement.

Attention - The Brewers Are Finally Hitting In The Second Half
While their offense is still one of the worst in baseball (.675 team OPS, 27th in MLB), they still found a way to win. Milwaukee put up two runs early, thanks to a double by Christian Yelich, a walk by Willy Adames, and a double by Jesse Winker to send them both home.

After the Mets tied the game, the Brewers pulled ahead once again in the sixth inning following a leadoff double by Owen Miller and an RBI single by Blake Perkins. To add some insurance, they piled on more offense in the eighth inning with a double by Brian Anderson, a walk by Blake Perkins, a (highly controversial) hit by pitch by Joey Wiemer, and a two-run single by Christian Yelich to lift the score to 5-2.

Despite their record and current divisional position, make no mistake: the Brewers have many weaknesses as a team. They are currently 23rd in MLB for run differential (-25) and are 26th in MLB for runs scored (321). While the pitching has gotten better and important roster moves (such as optioning Peter Strzelecki and calling up Thomas Pannone) will hopefully continue that trend, the offense must follow suit in order for the team to stay competitive.

What’s Next?
In the final game of the series, Adrian Houser will make his first start since June 9th against Max Scherzer, a truly exciting matchup on the mound. While Houser is looking to return to his regular spot in the Brewers rotation, Max Scherzer is looking to return to his regular form, as he's posted uncharacteristically shaky stats this season.

With both teams victorious, the Brewers remain 0.5 games behind the Cincinnati Reds but are now 4.0 games ahead of the third-place Chicago Cubs.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet