MILWAUKEE (AP) — Rhys Hoskins hit a grand slam off Sean Manaea in the first inning and the New York Mets’ playoff hopes took a hit Friday night with an 8-4 loss to the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers.
The Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks and Atlanta Braves are chasing the final two National League wild cards. The Mets and Braves have identical 87-71 records after Atlanta beat the Kansas City Royals 3-0 on Friday. The Diamondbacks fell to 88-72 after losing 5-3 to the San Diego Padres later Friday night.
“They kept fighting,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, who was ejected by plate umpire Ramon De Jesus after arguing a called third strike on Francisco Alvarez in the fourth inning. “We got down early, and we didn't give up. Turn the page, and we've got to get ready for tomorrow.”
New York’s loss spoiled the return of star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who went 2 for 4 with a walk and committed an error in his first appearance since Sept. 15. Lindor had played only one inning over the Mets’ past 10 games due to lower back pain.
While the Mets are still competing for a postseason berth, the Brewers already are locked into the No. 3 seed in the NL playoffs and will open a Wild Card Series Tuesday in Milwaukee.
“We know what’s at stake this weekend for those guys,” said Hoskins, a Mets nemesis dating to his days with rival Philadelphia. “Obviously, we’re trying to do what we can to be as prepared as we can for Tuesday by playing good baseball, so to get off on the right foot in the first game of a series is huge for us.”
Hoskins’ first-inning drive was his third grand slam and Milwaukee's 10th of the season, both tying franchise records.
The only other Brewers to have three grand slams in a season were John Jaha in 1995, Devon White in 2001 and John Vander Wal in 2003. The only other year the Brewers hit 10 grand slams was 1995.
Brice Turang went 3 for 4 with three runs and three of Milwaukee's six steals — increasing his season total to 50. Gary Sánchez homered late.
The only other players in franchise history to have at least 50 steals in a season were Tommy Harper (73 in 1969), Scott Podsednik (70 in 2005), Jonathan Villar (62 in 2016) and Pat Listach (54 in 1992). Harper’s 73 steals came in the franchise’s inaugural season, when they were the Seattle Pilots.
“I'm not really chasing numbers — just chasing opportunities to put myself in a better situation to score a run,” Turang said.
Milwaukee improved to 11-1 in its last 12 games against the Mets, including a 4-0 record this year.
Hoskins’ slam gave the Brewers an early 4-0 lead over Manaea, who had allowed more than three runs in only one of his last 12 starts. Manaea (12-6) gave up six runs — five earned — while lasting just 3 2/3 innings. New York had won his previous eight outings.
“We're fighting for our lives over here, and to do that doesn't feel good,” Manaea said. “But this team's resilient."
The Mets trailed 5-0 before Mark Vientos hit a two-run homer off starter Frankie Montas in the third.
New York then had runners on first and second with two outs in the fourth when Alvarez worked a 10-pitch at-bat before he struck out looking at a 3-2 pitch that appeared a bit low.
The Mets scored two runs off Hoby Milner in the eighth to cut Milwaukee's lead to 7-4, but a brilliant catch by rookie Jackson Chourio in deep left-center helped limit the damage. Sánchez provided more breathing room with a 425-foot shot to left off Alex Young in the bottom half.
Joe Ross (3-6) pitched three innings of shutout relief to earn the win. Trevor Megill got the final out in the eighth and worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 21st save in 24 opportunities.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Brewers RF Sal Frelick left after crashing into the sidewall while trying to make a leaping catch of a foul ball in the third inning. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said Frelick will undergo an MRI on Saturday.
Alvarez exited with back spasms after sliding into third in the seventh.
UP NEXT
Mets LHP Jose Quintana (10-9, 3.74 ERA) will start Saturday night in the middle game of the series. Milwaukee RHP Tobias Myers (8-6. 3.09) will pitch, though he won't necessarily start.
Quintana has thrown a career-high 22 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings and allowed one earned run over 32 innings in his last five outings, winning the past four. He hasn't pitched since Sept. 18.
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