Mets 4, Brewers 1: Niese Stellar As Mets Take Series From Brewers

Jose Reyes didn't get on base a single time in his five at bats tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers. Typically, this is not a precursor for good things to come, but in this game the New York Mets had other contributors -- namely Jon Niese with a stellar start -- and the Mets bounced back nicely from their late-inning nightmare from yesterday, winning 4-1.

Niese baffled the Brewers' hitters all night long, going 7 2/3 innings, giving up only three hits, four walks and one earned run, while fanning eight. He threw 99 pitches and saw his ERA continue to drop to 3.51 on the season, the lowest ERA of any New York starter. Even though he gave up six runs against the Cubs on May 24, Niese only allowed two earned runs. Over his past five starts, he has allowed five earned runs, total. The left-hander has been on a roll and he used his plus 12-6 curveball effectively tonight.

Even better about tonight: the bullpen preserved the victory. Francisco Rodriguez came in for an 1 1/3 innings of relief and allowed only a hit and struckout two.

The Mets got on the board first in the second inning, on a Ruben Tejada single to center. The young middle infielder went 2-for-4 on the night and is now hitting an impressive .328 in 67 at bats this season. Jason Pridie, playing for Jason Bay, went 1-for-4, but drove in the RBI with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. Prince Fielder sliced the lead in half in the fourth inning with an RBI double, but consecutive RBI singles from Daniel Murphy and Angel Pagan gave Niese enough breathing room. The Mets had ten hits and scored all four of their runs against Milwaukee's ace, Yovani Gallardo

Even more indicative of how this team is playing, doing all it can to scratch across runs and be aggressive: three steals, none from Reyes.

The Mets will hope to use the momentum from this series when when they face the Pittsburgh Pirates, beginning tomorrow, in a four-game set.

Mets At Brewers: Niese Looks To Continue Strong Pitching

(Sports Network) – Yovani Gallardo goes after win No. 9 this evening when the Milwaukee Brewers play the rubber match of their three-game set against the New York Mets at Miller Park.

Gallardo won his sixth straight start on Saturday in Florida, as he allowed just one earned run and six hits in six innings to up his mark to 8-2 on the season, while lowering his earned run average to 3.72.

Over the course of his six-game winning streak Gallardo has allowed just six runs in 41 innings.

Gallardo has faced the Mets four times and is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA.

Milwaukee put itself in position to win this series on Wednesday, as Nyjer Morgan’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth lifted the Brewers to a 7-6 win.

Craig Counsell singled with one out against Dale Thayer (0-1), then swiped second as Rickie Weeks struck out swinging. Morgan followed by ripping a ball into the right-field corner to bring home Counsell with the winning run.

“Wasn’t that interesting?” said Brewers manager Ron Roenicke.

Prince Fielder hit a pair of two-run homers for the Brewers, who rallied from a 6-2 deficit to win for the fifth time in six games.

John Axford (2-1) turned in a scoreless top of the ninth and earned a win.

Ronny Paulino finished 4-for-4 with a three-run homer for the Mets, who saw their three-game win streak snapped.

The Mets had scored five times in the top of the eighth, only to see Milwaukee respond with four in the home half before pulling out the win in its last at- bat.

“It’s nothing new,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “Right now, there’s an empty feeling because we thought we had that one pretty much wrapped up.”

New York will counter with lefty Jon Niese, who is 4-5 with a 3.75 ERA. Niese did not get a decision on Friday against Atlanta, but pitched well, as he allowed just a pair of runs and eight hits in 7 2/3 innings of a 6-3 loss.

Niese has faced the Brewers twice without getting a decision, despite being rocked for 11 runs and 17 hits in just 5 2/3 innings of those outings.

The Brewers won five of seven matchups with the Mets a year ago.

Brewers 7, Mets 6: Bullpen Coughs Up Lead, Gives Up Five Earned Runs In Two Innings

For one half inning, the New York Mets showed just how tenacious they could be this year. It looked as if the New York Mets were about to go home with an extremely gratifying come-from-behind with against a very good Milwaukee Brewers club at home. Down 2-1 in the eighth inning, the Mets put a five-spot on the board to go ahead 6-2, and New York would need just six outs to clinch their fourth consecutive win.

After the next half inning, however, the Mets went into the ninth inning looking to put the decisive run on the board, as Milwaukee scored four times in the eighth. New York went quiet down quietly in the ninth and the pathetic relief efforts continued, with Nyjer Morgan capping the win for the Brewers, with a game-winning RBI single, to win 7-6.

Jose Reyes began the eighth-inning rally with an infield single, then stole second. Carlos Beltran doubled him home, Angel Pagan singled home a run, and Ronny Paulino put an exclamation point on the inning with a three-run homerun. The Mets had what seemed like a commanding 6-2 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning.

Even after a clean seventh inning of relief from Bobby Parnell, the Mets' relief struggled reared its ugly head in the eighth. Pedro Beato was hit around, his fastball straight, giving up three earned runs. Ryan Bruan doubled home two runners, and Jason Isringhausen was called on to clean up the Mets but promptly gave up a mammoth home run to Prince Fielder (his second of the game), which tied the game at 6.

Terry Collins elected to go with Dale Thayer in the ninth inning, and he paid for it. He got the first out, then allowed a single. Rickie Weeks struck out, but on the strikeout, Craig Counsell stole second without a throw. Morgan singled him home in the next at bat to give the Brewers the victory.

The Mets' problems now are obvious -- even on a night in which Mike Pelfrey gives up two earned runs in six innings, the bullpen continues to cost Mets victories. Collins better figure out who he can trust very soon, or the Mets' playoff chances will be gone very soon.

Mets At Brewers: Pelfrey Looks To Keep Mets' Winning Streak Alive

(Sports Network) – New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes seems to be back to his old dominant ways and looks to keep his current hitting streak alive tonight, when his team plays the second portion of a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The oft-injured Reyes, who recently returned from the Dominican Republic following the death of his grandmother, is riding an 11-game hitting tear in which the speedy shortstop is batting .458 with 13 runs scored, eight RBI and five triples. Reyes had his streak of at least one run scored in nine consecutive games come to an end in Tuesday’s 2-1 win at Miller Park, but he ended with two hits, including a two-run triple in the top of the seventh inning.

Reyes’ three-base hit brought home Josh Thole and Jason Pridie, giving the Mets the lead for good and their third straight win.

Ruben Tejada had two hits for the Mets, who won for the sixth time in their last nine tries and opened a 10-game road trip on a positive note. The Mets will also visit Pittsburgh and Atlanta on the swing and welcomed back outfielder Carlos Beltran last night. Beltran left Sunday’s win over the Braves with a leg bruise and went 0-for-4 in the victory at Milwaukee.

Mets starter and former Brewer Chris Capuano worked six innings and allowed six hits and one run for the win, while Francisco Rodriguez closed the Brewers out with two strikeouts in the ninth inning for his 17th save.

“He’s gone through a lot and has come back, and I guess he’s got it all back together after the injuries,” Capuano’s former teammate and Brewers star first baseman Prince Fielder said. “It’s awesome to see.”

New York would like to see Mike Pelfrey get back into the win column when he makes his 13th start of the season this evening. Pelfrey is 0-1 with a 5.26 earned run average in his last four starts and was banged around for seven runs and 10 hits through five innings in New York’s 9-8 win over the Pirates on Thursday.

Pelfrey is 3-4 overall and raised his ERA to 5.56 in 12 trips to the hill in 2011. The righty is only 1-4 in six road outings this season and 1-1 with a 3.15 ERA in three career starts against the Brewers.

Milwaukee was coming off a four-game sweep of the Florida Marlins and had won 18 of its last 23 games before dropping a one-run decision to New York. Fielder’s home run to lead off the sixth inning highlighted the offense, while reliever Marco Estrada suffered the loss for allowing Reyes’ big triple in the seventh frame.

“I started off with a change, you’ve got to get your first pitch across,” said Estrada of the at-bat. "I left the ball up and he did what he’s supposed to do with that. “Maybe if I had a ground ball, I might have gotten a double play.”

The Brewers fell 2 1/2 games off St. Louis’ lead in the National League Central Division after the Cardinals defeated Houston last night. Milwaukee will host the Cardinals for three games after this series.

Brewers starter Shaun Marcum held the Mets in check with six shutout innings, but walked four batters in the no-decision.

The Brewers are still a dominant 21-8 as the host this season and will assign pitching duties to veteran Randy Wolf Wednesday night. Wolf is 1-0 over his last three starts since going 0-2 over his previous four trips to the mound, and is coming off a no-decision at Florida on Friday.

Wolf allowed four runs in five innings against the Marlins and is 4-4 in 12 starts to go along with a 3.69 earned run average this season. The left-hander owns a 2-1 mark in five Miller Park starts in 2011 and has enjoyed success in past matchups with the Mets, most of which came from his days in Philadelphia. He has gone 12-5 with a 3.27 ERA in 32 career starts against New York and has more wins and starts against the Mets than any other team in his career.

Milwaukee and New York met for the first time this season on Tuesday. The Brewers won five of seven matchups with the Mets a year ago.

Mets 2, Brewers 1: Reyes' 2-Run Triple Leads Mets To Third Straight Win

Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Jose Reyes' two-run triple in the seventh inning was the difference, as the New York Mets clipped Milwaukee, 2-1, in the first of three between the clubs at Miller Park.

Chris Capuano (4-6) worked six innings and allowed six hits and one run for the Mets, who have won three straight and four of five overall.

Francisco Rodriguez turned in a scoreless ninth to post his 17th save.

Prince Fielder's solo homer was the lone offense for the Brewers, who saw their four-game win streak snapped.

Marco Estrada (1-3) was charged with the deciding runs in his one inning of relief. Starter Shaun Marcum tossed six scoreless frames, giving up two hits and four walks.

Mets At Brewers: Mets, Capuano Look To Cool Off Milwaukee

In the midst of the MLB draft, the New York Mets travel to Milwaukee to take on the streaking Brewers tonight at 8:10 p.m. EST. The Brew Crew have won four in a row, a sweep of the Marlins, and despite having a number of power bats, they've done it with pretty good pitching. Tonight they'll send Shaun Marcum to the mound to face Chris Capuano.

Marcum has had a splendid year since being dealt from the Toronto Blue Jays and will certainly give Mets hitters fits. He has a 6-2 record, 2.78 ERA and 1.02 WHIP on the season, giving up very few hits and striking out over a batter per inning. With Carlos Beltran looking iffy for the series because of a shin contusion, the Mets will have an even tougher time putting runs on the board this series.

Capuano is coming off a start in which he allowed five earned runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but before that had allowed more than two one time in his last five starts. He's either been really good or pretty bad this year and he figures to have his work cut out against him facing right-handed hitters like Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart. He's 3-6 on the year with a 5.19 ERA and 1.45 WHIP.