Fresh off their first road series win since early June, the New York Mets (42-58) travel to American Family Field for a three-game rendezvous with the Milwaukee Brewers (62-37). The Mets were swept in Milwaukee last August but won two of three against the Brewers at Citi Field. The last time New York won a game in this ballpark, it was Game 160 of the 2024 season, and the victory positioned them to clinch a postseason berth on the final day of the regular season.
The Mets entered the second half as
losers of three straight following a sweep at the hands of the Red Sox, but they rebounded to take two of three from the Phillies in Citizens Bank Park. It was their first road series win since taking two out of three from the Padres back on June 5-7. In their 4-1 victory on Thursday, they got most of their offense via the home run ball, as Francisco Alvarez contributed his second two-homer game of the year and Brett Baty added a solo shot of his own, which was more than enough for Christian Scott, who was terrific yet again. The win came despite the downright dangerous conditions, including the poor air quality resulting from the Canadian wild fires. They were listless in their 6-1 loss on Saturday, as the Mets mustered just three hits, made three errors, and got ineffective pitching from both Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga in defeat.
They returned the favor with a 6-1 win in the rubber game, as the Mets jumped ahead on a Francisco Lindor two-run home run, got three more runs in the second, and never looked back, while Nolan McLean shoved with ten strikeouts in six shutout frames. The Mets picked up 14 hits and walked seven times, with every member of the starting lineup picking up at least one hit except for Marcus Semien. On the downside, New York left 15 on base and ended up going 3-for-23 with Runners in Scoring Position in the series, with all three hits coming on Sunday.
The team’s solid weekend did nothing to quell the trade chatter, and in fact the organization openly announced to the world before Thursday’s game that they were open to business. This is nothing new but did serve as active confirmation of their plans heading into the deadline, especially the fact that all players minus the youngsters and Juan Soto are being made available for the right deal. This led to a lot of chatter about Lindor, who has struggled this year after enduring an injury-plagued campaign. Worse than the offense, he’s made a number of mental mistakes and made errors in three straight games before putting up a clean defensive performance on Sunday.
He actually put forth one of his best performances of the year in the finale, hitting a homer, contributing three hits, and reaching base five times. Despite that, many fans and many in the media have taken it upon themselves to ask if he should be traded, with many even saying his best days are behind him. It’s led to a lot of takes, and a lot of discourse, but Lindor, for his part, has made it known he’s not happy with his play and is actively going out there trying to figure things out. For the right trade, anyone should be movable, but the Mets would probably have to be blown away to even consider it, as Lindor still remains an integral part of this team, especially if they want to succeed next season.
The Brewers kicked off the second half with a three-game sweep of the Marlins at home, which was a nice rebound performance after getting swept by the Pirates to end the first half. The Brewers, who were once chasing the Cubs in the NL Central, are currently six games clear of their division foe, and own the second-best record in baseball behind the Dodgers. On top of their major league success, the Brewers have the top ranked farm system in Major League Baseball, which is an embarrassment of riches for an organization that has made the postseason in seven of the past eight seasons and is well on their way to making it this year after reaching the NLCS in 2025.
Unsurprisingly, Milwaukee is right near the top of the pack in the NL in offense, ranking fifth in wRC+ (104), fifth in runs scored (502), fourth in OBP (.337), and fourth in stolen bases (98). However, one thing they won’t do is outslug you, as they have hit the fewest home runs (91) among NL squads. Their pitching is where they really shine, however. Their rotation has a 3.38 ERA, which is second-best in the NL behind the Dodgers, while sporting a league-best 3.48 FIP. Their starters also sport the best K% (27.9%), the third-best BB% (7.4%), and the fourth-best HR/9 (1.08). It is worth noting that a lot of it is skewed thanks to Jacob Misiorowski’s Cy Young-worthy campaign. Their bullpen is equally lethal, sporting the second-best ERA (3.54) and FIP (3.68) in the league. So while Milwaukee will not bludgeon you on offense, they are very stingy when it comes to giving up runs.
Aside from Misiorowski, William Contreras was the only other All-Star for Milwaukee. The catcher enters play hitting .280/.346/.405 with 10 homers, a 107 wRC+, and 1.8 fWAR in 92 games. However, their best offensive player is Brice Turang, who is hitting .261/.358/.456 while leading the club in runs scored (67), runs batted in (60), stolen bases (15), and fWAR (3.5). Their biggest power threat is Jake Bauers, who is tops on the team in home runs (18), wRC+ (135), and OPS (.858).
Monday, July 20: Freddy Peralta vs. Brandon Sproat, 7:40 PM EDT on SNY
Peralta (2026): 104.1 IP, 104 K, 44 BB, 15 HR, 4.66 ERA, 4.39 FIP, 114 ERA-
Peralta will make his long-awaited return to Milwaukee when he faces off with his old club in the series opener. In eight years with the Brewers, he posted a 3.59 ERA and a 3.66 FIP while amassing 1,237 strikeouts in 931 innings. He was a two-time All-Star and finished in the top-5 in NL Cy Young voting with the club in his final season. He’s had considerably less success with the Mets, and is quickly approaching the end of his brief tenure in Queens, as he will almost certainly be moved before the August 3 deadline. Interestingly, with the Brandon Woodruff injury, Milwaukee has emerged as a possible landing spot for the right-hander. His last time out, he suffered his eighth loss of 2026 as he allowed two earned runs on three hits while striking out six and wlaking five over 4 1/3 innings.
Sproat (2026): 82.0 IP, 87 K, 39 BB, 15 HR, 5.16 ERA, 5.11 FIP, 123 ERA-
Similar to Peralta, Sproat will make his first start against the club that traded him to the Brewers (in exchange for Peralta). The young right-hander was the centerpiece of the deal and has been a steady member of the team’s rotation after making four starts with the Mets and posting a 4.79 ERA and a 2.80 FIP in 20 2/3 innings last year. His numbers are a bit misleading, as he had a really rough start to his tenure in the Brewers before leveling off a bit. After posting a 6.24 ERA and a 5.59 FIP through May 31, he has posted a 3.55 ERA and a 4.40 FIP in seven starts since June 1. He also enjoyed the best start of his career in this stretch, when he hurled six innings of one-hit ball and punched out a career-best ten against the Reds on June 23.
Tuesday, July 21: Zac Thornton vs. Jacob Misiorowski, 7:40 PM EDT on SNY
Thornton (2026): 17.1 IP, 15 K, 5 BB, 1 HR, 2.60 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 64 ERA-
The artist formerly known as “Zach Thornton” and currently known as “Zac Thornton” is coming off the best start of his young career, and one that should have earned him his first career victory. The young left-hander dominated the Red Sox in the team’s final game before the All-Star break, llimiting Boston to two hits and two walks over seven scoreless frames. He struck out five and needed just 82 pitches to get through his outing. If it wasn’t for a blown save in the ninth, he would have had his victory, but he will certainly get plenty of chances down the stretch to earn that first win. Given the team’s pitching outlook, the upcoming deadline, and his last two starts, Thornton looks to have established himself as a rotation mainstay for the foreseeable future.
Misiorowski (2026): 111.0 IP, 167 K, 27 BB, 9 HR, 1.62 ERA, 2.09 FIP, 39 ERA-
Misiorowski made waves after debuting last year and was the center of controversy after being named an NL All-Star after just five career starts and 25 2/3 career innings. There was no controversy this year with his selection, as Misiorowski leads the NL in ERA (1.62), ERA- (39), strikeouts (167), FIP (2.09), WHIP (0.76), and H/9 (4.6). He has established himself as the clear frontrunner for the NL Cy Young award in his second major league season. The 24-year-old flamethrower earned a win in his last start before the break, holding the Cardinals to three runs on three hits with 11 strikeouts over two innings. His best and most eye-opening start came on June 12, when he hurled a complete game one-hit shutout with 15 strikeouts against the Phillies.
Sunday, July 19: Christian Scott vs. Logan Henderson, 2:10 PM EDT on SNY
Scott (2026): 59.2 IP, 72 K, 26 BB, 7 HR, 2.87 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 70 ERA-
Dealing with a tough lineup in Philadelphia and the elements (intense heat and bad air quality), Scott was in command in picking up his third career victory. The 27-year-old right-hander held a potent Phillies’ lineup to three hits and did not walk a batter while striking out seven over 5 2/3 innings. Over his last two starts, he ha snow pitched 10 2/3 innings of shutout baseball, scattering six hits and walking one while striking out 12 hitters. Along with Nolan McLean, Scott as emerged as the future of this team’s rotation in 2027 and beyond.
Henderson (2026): 33.1 IP, 38 K, 7 BB, 3 HR, 2.97 ERA, 2.71 FIP, 71 ERA-
Henderson posted a 1.78 ERA in 25 1/3 innings for Milwaukee last season in his first go-around in the majors, but elbow inflammation cut his solid season short. He started this year in Triple-A but has made a couple of trips up to the majors while also battling a low back strain. Since returning, he’s made two starts, allowing three earned runs on three hits over 5 1/3 innings in a win against the Cardinals, and holding the Marlins to one earned run on three hits over five innings against the Marlins in a no decision. The Brewers have won each of his last five starts dating back to his pre-IL stint.
