In a disappointing turn of events, the New York Mets suffered a loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, along with the loss of their starting catcher Francisco Alvarez due to injury. The Mets had hoped to make progress in the National League Wild Card race but instead found themselves playing a sloppy game for the second consecutive time. Defensive mistakes, walks, stolen bases, and poor pitching contributed to their downfall.
The result of this game allowed the Atlanta Braves to tie with the Mets in the standings. Both teams are now in a virtual tie with the Arizona Diamondbacks for one of two available postseason berths. It was certainly not how the Mets wanted things to go as they fight for their playoff lives.
Fortunately, Alvarez’s injury does not appear too serious. After receiving treatment following the game, he expressed feeling significantly better and does not expect to miss much time on the field.
However, it is concerning that these past two games have been some of the sloppiest performances by the Mets during this crucial playoff race. In their previous game against Atlanta, defensive blunders cost them dearly before weather conditions forced cancellations for subsequent games.
Against Milwaukee on Friday night, they did not show much improvement. Early on in this match-up, Francisco Lindor failed to catch an important hit that resulted in a single for Brice Turang. Lindor admitted his mistake but acknowledged that his team made several other errors throughout this game as well.
The loss did not heavily impact their playoff chances since other teams also faced defeats; however it has reduced their margin for error going forward.
The Mets have emphasized taking care of business themselves rather than relying on help from other teams. However, they face tough competition from a motivated Brewers team who want to secure wins and potentially force a doubleheader between both New York and Atlanta next Monday.
As chaos ensues within this tight NL Wild Card race scenario, it benefits teams like Milwaukee who can capitalize on any missteps made by others vying for those coveted postseason spots.
