The Milwaukee Brewers are set to open a three-game series against the New York Mets on Monday evening, and the matchup arrives with two teams headed in sharply different directions. Milwaukee enters at 62-37 and first in the NL Central, while New York is 42-58 and stuck in last place in the NL East.
That record gap is the reason Mets vs Brewers is drawing attention now. The Brewers come in six games ahead of the second-place Cubs after sweeping the Marlins over the weekend, and they have done it with a team that is piling up runs and preventing them at a far better rate than New York. Milwaukee has scored 502 runs, hit.253/.337/.396 as a club and owns a 3.45 team ERA, while the Mets have scored 409 runs and are hitting.234/.304/.382.
Devin Williams is one of the figures that gives the series its edge. He has 14 saves in 17 opportunities this year, but his 4.68 ERA leaves more room for concern than a closer on a first-place club would like. Milwaukee’s bullpen has still been steady enough to support a rotation and staff that have struck out 960 batters over 886 2/3 innings, and Aaron Ashby has handled the heaviest relief load with 47 appearances, a 3.43 ERA and 78 strikeouts over 57 2/3 innings.
The Brewers have also found enough offense to keep pressure on opponents. Jake Bauers leads them with 18 home runs, Brice Turang has 14, Jackson Chourio has 13 and William Contreras has 10, while Garrett Mitchell has been their best hitter over the last month or so. New York has more raw power overall with 117 home runs, but that has not translated into consistent production. Juan Soto has been its best hitter with a.290/.409/.552 line and 21 home runs, followed by Francisco Alvarez and Carson Benge with 11 apiece and Bo Bichette with 10.
There is still a catch on the New York side. The Mets are coming off a series win in Philadelphia after taking two of three from the Phillies, so they do arrive with something to build on even after firing their manager. That leaves Monday’s opener with the feel of a club trying to reset itself against a team that has been more complete from top to bottom, and it also leaves one practical question hanging over the series: whether Luis Robert Jr. is actually activated and available, or whether he remains a name on the board rather than part of the lineup. Either way, the next test begins Monday evening, and the Brewers will try to turn their advantage into an early edge in the three-game set.
