It Keeps Finding Them

One defensive play changed the course of the afternoon as the Mets settled for a split of their six-game road trip.

Jul 23, 2026

Thursday: July 23

The Mets spent another afternoon paying for one of the themes that has followed them throughout the 2026 season.

After grabbing another early lead, New York watched the game turn in a single inning Wednesday afternoon, as a costly defensive misplay helped fuel a three-run Brewers rally in what became a 4-3 loss at American Family Field.

The defeat handed Milwaukee the rubber game of the series and sent the Mets home from their six-game road trip at an even 3-3.

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Christian Scott deserved a better fate.

Making his second start since the All-Star break after tossing 5.2 scoreless innings against Philadelphia last week, Scott found himself one out away from escaping the second inning.

Despite a walk and a single to begin the frame, it looked as though Scott was going to play Houdini and evade the impossible.

Instead, everything unraveled.

With runners on first and third and two outs, Joey Ortiz lifted a fly ball toward the warning track in right field.
Brett Baty, making just his 18th career appearance in right, couldn’t haul it in as the ball skipped past him for a two-run triple.

One batter later, Christian Yelich lined an RBI single into left, turning what had nearly been a scoreless inning into a three-run frame.

Thirty-five pitches after the inning began, Milwaukee suddenly led 3-1.

The play immediately sparked discussion in the SNY booth.

“That’s a consequence of playing guys out of position,” Gary Cohen said moments after the ball dropped.

Later in the afternoon, Keith Hernandez echoed a similar thought.

Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez did not hold back their thoughts

“Seems like today’s game they don’t give first base enough credit, certainly the Mets don’t.”

For a club that entered Wednesday ranked 24th in Major League Baseball in Fielding Run Value -- and tied for the second-most errors in baseball -- it became another example of a defensive issue that has lingered throughout the season.

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To Baty’s credit, he didn’t shy away from responsibility afterward.

“Three runs are on me right there,” Baty said. “That’s the difference in the game.”
“I just pride myself on being able to make all the plays in the field. Very disappointed in myself there.”

Scott ultimately lasted just 3.2 innings, allowing three runs on four hits while walking three and striking out six over 89 pitches.

Although his command wasn’t nearly as sharp as it had been six days earlier, the young right-hander left the afternoon paying for a play that looked destined to end the inning moments earlier.

David Stearns has preached “run prevention” since last winter -- and now 103 games into the 2026 season -- it has seemed more like “win prevention.”

Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns

The Mets had struck first for the second consecutive game.

Marcus Semien launched his 10th home run of the season in the second inning, his first since returning from the injured list, giving New York a brief 1-0 advantage.

Baty partially redeemed himself in the fifth with a solo homer to cut Milwaukee’s lead to one.

Despite homers by Brett Baty and Marcus Semien, New York fell to Milwaukee

But the Brewers answered in the bottom of the sixth when Yelich drove home Ortiz with a two-out triple to restore the two-run cushion.

Joey Ortiz and Christian Yellich each had monster games for the Brewers

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Milwaukee starter Logan Henderson held the Mets in check throughout, striking out a career-high nine over five innings, while New York’s offense once again struggled with runners in scoring position, going 1-for-7 in those opportunities.

Two days after striking out 15 times against Jacob Misiorowski and the Brewers, the Mets matched that total again Wednesday and have now struck out 78 times over their last seven games.

The bullpen gave the offense every opportunity to climb back into the game.

After escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, Huascar Brazobán and the rest of the relief corps kept Milwaukee from pulling away.

Francisco Alvarez delivered a two-out RBI single in the ninth, cutting the deficit to one. Now sporting the tying run on base, A.J. Ewing’s hard-hit ground ball to third was turned into the game’s final out.

The road trip ended with a split. But the story felt all too familiar. More than 100 games into the season, the Mets are still searching for cleaner baseball. Until they find it, these kinds of afternoons have a way of finding them.

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