Mets Ignore Run Prevention And Prevent Themselves From Winning Series In Milwaukee

Brewers 4, Mets 3 (American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI)

Mets Record: 43-60

Mets Streak: L1 Mets Last 10: 4-6

WP: Logan Henderson (4-1)

LP: Christian Scott (3-2)

SV: Trevor Megill (16)

Seat On The Korner: Joey Ortiz

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

Brewers' third baseman Joey Ortiz went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI on Wednesday.

Today's Seat on the Korner goes to Brewers' third baseman Joey Ortiz, who absolutely killed the Mets out of the ninth spot in Milwaukee's batting order. Ortiz finished a homer shy of the cycle as he went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI on the afternoon to help the Brewers win the series against the Mets.

Need To Know:

• The loss ensured the Mets finished their six-game road trip at 3-3.

• The Mets dropped a regular season series in Milwaukee for the fourth consecutive year.

• Dating back to 2017, the Mets are 5-23 in their last 28 regular season meetings at American Family Field.

• Jorge Polanco went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts and is just 4-for-29 since coming off the injured list earlier this month.

• The Mets announced that Clay Holmes will have his first rehab start with AAA Syracuse tomorrow. Holmes is expected to pitch three innings as he works his way back from a broken leg.

• The Mets went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.

Turning Point:

The game swung in the second inning, when Scott got into trouble by putting men on first and third with nobody out while clinging to a 1-0 lead. Scott recorded a pop out and strikeout, putting himself into position to escape the inning when he induced a fly ball to right field. Brett Baty, who was starting out there despite the fact that the Mets had five healthy outfielders on the roster, misplayed it into a two-run triple to give Milwaukee a lead they would never relinquish.

The misplay forced Scott to face two more batters, resulting in an RBI single for Christian Yelich and a strikeout of Jackson Chourio to end the inning. Instead of escaping the frame with no damage, Scott was hit with three earned runs and a heavier workload that played a big part in him getting pulled after just 3.2 innings.

Three Things:

Ignoring Run Prevention:

One night after a slew of sparkling defensive plays highlighted one of their crispest games of the season, the Mets decided to throw defense out the window in this game. With Juan Soto and Luis Robert getting off days, the Mets inserted Baty in right field instead of Tyrone Taylor presumably to ensure both he and Marcus Semien got playing time.

While Baty was apologetic for his performance after the game and did hit a homer to make up for one of the runs he allowed, the Mets shouldn't have put Baty in that position to begin with. There was no reason not to start Taylor, an actual outfielder, in that spot and play Baty at second base when Marcus Semien entered the contest hitting just .198 with a .579 OPS in 227 at-bats against right-handed pitching.

That self-inflicted wound came back to bite the Mets again later on when they pinch-hit for both Jared Young and Baty against lefty Aaron Ashby in a late-inning rally. With both of their options at first base out of the game, the Mets were forced to use backup catcher Luis Torrens there. Torrens, for the record, has only played first base eight times in his career.

This situation could have easily been avoided with better planning and clearly cost the Mets the game. This has been an issue far too often in 2026 and will continue to haunt the Mets if they insist on playing people out of position to try and gain a lineup edge.

Marcus Semien's Vice Grip On Playing Time For The Mets:

The other part of that equation involved the choice to roll with Semien, who has been one of the most disappointing players in baseball this year, at second base despite his poor splits against righties. The Mets looked smart when Semien homered in the second inning against Logan Henderson but saw those gains go away thanks to Baty's mis-play in the outfield.

The choice to treat a declining Semien as an everyday player is a recurring issue with this team as the Mets seem intent on wringing every bit of value out of players who have a past track record. The Mets have given way too long a leash to players like Semien, Mark Vientos, David Peterson, Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea and Baty this season despite mediocre to awful performance.

That lack of accountability has meant the Mets have put out sub-optimal lineups or pitchers to avoid "losing" a trade or contract. That mentality has to change or else the Mets will never break out of this cycle of mediocrity that has plagued them for the past year and a half.

Why Juan Soto Didn't Pinch Hit:

The Mets attempted to rally in the ninth inning, getting the tying run up immediately with the bottom of the lineup due up. Despite having Soto available off the bench, the Mets didn't go to him, which saw them net one run before A.J. Ewing grounded out with the tying run on first base in the form of Francisco Alvarez.

Interim manager Andy Green said after the game that the Mets wanted to give Soto a full day off to help him get over a minor calf issue that has been bothering him since prior to the All Star Break. That was probably the correct tactical decision for the Mets' long-term view since a win the season is already cooked. The last thing the Mets can afford is to see someone like Soto or Francisco Lindor get hurt at the end of a lost season, even if it means taking a lesser chance at winning a specific ball game.