MILWAUKEE (AP) — Joey Ortiz drove in three runs for Milwaukee and the New York Mets mustered just two hits as their playoff hopes sustained another blow with a 4-0 loss to the Brewers on Saturday night. New York (87-72) lost their third straight and fell one game behind Atlanta (88-71) in the NL wild card race when the Braves beat Kansas City 2-1 on a ninth-inning, walk-off homer from former Met Travis d'Arnaud. The Mets are competing for the NL's final two wild-card spots with the Braves and Arizona (88-72), which was hosting San Diego.
Both the Mets and Braves have head-to-head tiebreaker advantages over the Diamondbacks. The Mets and Braves would play a Monday doubleheader in Atlanta if their postseason fates haven’t been settled. Ortiz put the Brewers ahead 2-0 in the fourth by looping a full-count curveball from Jose Quintana (10-10) into left-center with a bases-loaded single.
Milwaukee broke open the game in the eighth inning by scoring four runs off Reed Garrett, the first runs he allowed since Aug. 18. The outburst included an RBI single by Willy Adames, a bases-loaded walk by Ortiz and a two-run single by Andruw Monasterio.
Quintana and four relievers combined to strike out 18 — the Mets' highest total this season. But New York was shut out for the first time since Aug. 23 and was held to two hits or fewer for just the fifth time this year.
Jose Iglesias singled in the first inning and Starling Marte hit a ground-rule double in the fifth. The only other time t.
