Surprising Mets reach midway point with win over Brewers

Eighty-one games into 2021 — the halfway point of their season, reached Monday night with a 4-2 win over the Brewers at Citi Field — the Mets believe they know who they are: legitimate World Series contenders.

At 44-37, the Mets are on an 88-win pace. They lead Washington by four games and Atlanta and Philadelphia by 4 1⁄2 in the mediocre NL East.

"If we look at ourselves in the whole picture of the National League, the goal is to win your division, get to the postseason," acting general manager Zack Scott said Monday evening. "And given especially the top of the rotation and our bullpen, I think we’ve got as good a chance as anyone once we get there."

The Mets’ path to relevance, after years of something less than that, has been an unexpected one. They have one of the best pitching staffs — including the best rotation, with a 2.96 ERA — and one of the worst offenses in the majors.

That formula has worked thus far, and it again was on display against the Brewers (51-35), who have been running away with the NL Central.

The Mets didn’t score much, but they scored enough. They reached Milwaukee ace Brandon Woodruff for four runs in 6 1⁄3 innings. Pete Alonso’s go-ahead two-run double and Michael Conforto’s RBI single highlighted a three-run rally in the seventh.

Woodruff (2.10 ERA) had been cruising until then. The only other run came in the fourth, when Brandon Nimmo led off with a double — the Mets’ first hit — moved to third on a sacrifice by Francisco Lindor and scored on a sacrifice fly by Dominic Smith.

Nimmo (2-for-4) was the only Met with multiple hits.

"His good approach is contagious," manager Luis Rojas said. "They’re able to see entire repertoire from the opposing pitcher just because of Brandon Nimmo."

The Mets parlayed that with another excellent pitching performance.

Righthander Tylor Megill contributed the best of his three major-league starts, holding the Brewers to one run and two hits in five innings. He struck out seven and walked two. The lone blemish was Omar Narvaez’s home run in the fourth inning. Megill’s ERA is 3.77.

"He’s doing for us exactly what we needed," Rojas said. "Probably more than what we needed. He’s been outstanding."

Then the bullpen took over. Aaron Loup (1.80 ERA), Seth Lugo (2.40) and Trevor May (3.13, 10 consecutive scoreless appearances) each tossed a shutout inning. Edwin Diaz extricated himself from a jam — his first three batters reached base, and Tyrone Taylor’s RBI single brought the go-ahead run to the plate — for his 18th save in 19 chances.

The Mets have gotten this far despite a series of injuries, first to position players and more recently to pitchers. They have used their intended Opening Day lineup just eight times — less than 10% of their games.

The last major missing piece is J.D. Davis, who has been out with a sprained hand for more than two months. He might return this weekend; if not, the following weekend, when the Mets begin their post-All-Star break schedule in Pittsburgh.

"It’s good timing to get these guys back, see what we have, give us a better sense of where they’re at as we assess things for later this month," Scott said.

The front office will be watching closely as it decides what to do at the July 30 trade deadline. Scott said starting pitching is the priority, but he didn’t rule out the addition of a hitter.

After a 6-11 stretch, the Mets have won three of four. "We’re in first place, and that’s excellent," Alonso said. "But where we are now is where we want to be at the end of 162."