Carlos Gomez scored the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning when outfielder Michael Cuddyer misplayed a double off the wall, helping the Milwaukee Brewers beat the injury-riddled New York Mets 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Gomez had yet to reach third on Adam Lind's double down the left-field line off Sean Gilmartin when the ball took a high hop off the side wall on Cuddyer. The ball bounced just over Cuddyer's glove and trickled through his legs, allowing Gomez to score.
New York lost its sixth straight, falling to .500 (36-36) for the first time since it was 3-3 on April 12.
Will Smith (3-0) pitched 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief before Francisco Rodriguez tossed a perfect ninth for his 14th save in 14 chances.
The Mets placed starting catcher Travis d'Arnaud on the disabled list for the second time this season before the game with a left elbow injury.
The margin of error for the offensively challenged Mets got even tighter with d'Arnaud rejoining middle-of-the-order mainstays David Wright and Daniel Murphy on the disabled list. D'Arnaud spent nearly two months on the DL with a broken right pinkie.
Starter Jonathan Niese gave the Mets six choppy innings, holding the Brewers to two runs despite allowing eight hits. Jean Segura's sacrifice fly drove home Gerardo Parra from third to tie the game at 2 in the sixth.
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Cuddyer's miscue an inning later hurt even more. Hansel Robles (1-2) took the loss after allowing Gomez to reach on a walk.
Milwaukee starter Mike Fiers pitched six effective innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven.
But the lanky right-hander with the looping delivery made two crucial mistakes.
In the fourth, a wild pitch allowed baserunner Wilmer Flores to get to third. Two batters later, rookie catcher Kevin Plawecki, starting for d'Arnaud, drove Flores home with a sacrifice fly for a 2-1 lead.
An inning earlier, Fiers left a fastball in the zone on the inside half of the plate to Curtis Granderson. He hit the ball into the right-field bleachers to tie the game at 1 with his 10th homer of the season.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mets: Manager Terry Collins was hopeful that d'Arnaud would need just the minimum 15 days on the disabled list to recover from his left elbow injury. ... Murphy (left quad) could be ready to start a rehab assignment soon, assistant general manager John Ricco said.
Brewers: Gomez (right leg/hip) went 1 for 2 with a walk and hit-by-pitch after missing two games in Colorado over the weekend. The injury has bothered him for much of June.
UP NEXT
Mets: Bartolo Colon (9-5) looks to rebound from a tough outing his last time out, when the right-hander allowed seven runs in a 4 1-3 innings in a 7-1 loss to Toronto on Thursday.
Brewers: Jimmy Nelson (3-8) gave up a career-high 11 hits in five innings in his last outing, a 3-2 loss Thursday to Kansas City. The young right-hander is 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in two career starts against the Mets.
