Mets at Brewers
If the loss of six-time All-Star Ryan Braun to the 10-day disabled list was supposed to slow down the Milwaukee Brewers' surprisingly powerful offense, forgive the New York Mets if they can't tell the difference. The Brewers attempt to complete a sweep of the visiting Mets and post their sixth victory in seven contests Sunday, when the teams wrap up their three-game series.
Braun landed on the DL with a left calf strain prior to Friday's opener, but Milwaukee belted a season-high four home runs to secure a 7-4 win. Travis Shaw did his best Braun impersonation in Saturday's 11-4 rout, going 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs to lead the Brewers' 16-hit attack and lift their major league-best home run total to 60. After winning five of their previous six, the Mets have dropped three straight to find themselves three games under .500 (16-19). Neil Walker continues to swing a hot bat for New York, however, going 5-for-8 this weekend while clubbing a solo home run in each of the first two games of this series to lift his May batting average to .333 after hitting .195 last month.
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, WPIX (New York), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Jacob deGrom (2-1, 3.80 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Wily Peralta (4-2, 5.30)
Despite posting his fourth double-digit strikeout performance in five outings with 11 on Monday against San Francisco, deGrom settled for a no-decision after giving up three runs - including two homers - in six innings. The Stetson product ranks second in the National League with 60 strikeouts, but he also is among the NL leaders in walks with 19 - including 14 over his last four turns. The Florida native has fared well in five career starts versus Milwaukee, going 3-1 with a 2.32 ERA.
Peralta has fallen off a bit since winning each of his first three starts while posting a 2.65 ERA, going 1-2 in his last four turns while surrendering a total of 16 runs, 27 hits and eight walks over 18 2/3 innings. The 28-year-old Dominican did not factor in the decision Tuesday versus Boston despite permitting four runs on five hits and three walks in 4 1/3 frames. Peralta won his only home turn versus the Mets last season after allowing three runs in five innings to improve to 4-2 with a 3.53 ERA in six career starts against them.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Brewers are three games over .500 (20-17) for the first time since Sept. 27, 2014.
2. After playing 1,652 career contests as an infielder, New York SS Jose Reyes made his first appearance in the outfield Saturday.
3. Milwaukee's eight-run fifth inning on Saturday was the club's largest single-inning outburst since it scored eight times in the third against San Francisco on April 16, 2013.