Mets lose to Brewers in 18th on Ryan Braun's two-run single, his sixth hit of the game

MILWAUKEE — For the first time in 2019, the Mets have a losing record. And it came in crushing fashion.

Their 4-3, 18-inning loss to the Brewers on Saturday night — a game they tied in the ninth and led in the top of the 18th — dropped them to 16-17 and clinched another series loss. The Mets have won one series in the past month. Last year, on their way to a fourth-place finish in the division, they didn’t fall below .500 until June 1.

Ryan Braun ended the game with his sixth hit, a two-run single to rightfield with one out in the 18th off Chris Flexen, who was called up Saturday and was the Mets’ last man in the bullpen.

The Mets’ Jeff McNeil (3-for-8), whose diving catch on the warning track in the 12th robbed Braun of a hit, had a go-ahead single to left with two outs in the top of the 18th. But Flexen couldn’t finish it off, walking the bases loaded before Braun’s hit.

“It’s absolutely a tough one,” Flexen said. “The team battled that hard to get all the way back. We take the lead, we go out there with momentum, and to have a loss like that, it’s a big letdown on my part. I failed to do my job.”

Said Pete Alonso, whose team-high 10th home run tied the score at 2-2 in the ninth: “This one really doesn’t sit well.”

The extra innings turned what was almost a routine loss into a brutal one. With their bullpen already thinned by injuries, the Mets had to use Seth Lugo (three innings) and Robert Gsellman (three innings, pitching for the second night in a row), which means they likely will be unavailable Sunday for a start by Jason Vargas. Manager Mickey Callaway even opted for Edwin Diaz (12th inning) in a tie game on the road, a reverse of his philosophy not to make that move.

The Mets, who had 10 hits and three at-bats with runners in scoring position, have averaged 2.6 runs in their past 10 games.

Robinson Cano was 0-for-7 and Brandon Nimmo 0-for-5 (after starting the game on the bench). Amed Rosario was 1-for-7 with an RBI triple and four strikeouts and made two errors (plus a dropped catch that wasn’t ruled an error). He has a league-high nine errors.

“It’s just not happening for him,” Callaway said of Rosario’s defense. “He’s a diligent worker, he’ll work through it. There’s no doubt he’s not going to let it bother him coming to the field.”

A long third inning dampened an otherwise strong start for Zack Wheeler, who allowed two runs in seven innings, walked one and struck out 10. Faced with the choice of a reliever from a beleaguered bullpen or Wheeler, who already had thrown 101 pitches, Callaway stuck with his starter for the seventh, and Wheeler rewarded him with a perfect 10-pitch inning.

Brewers lefthander Gio Gonzalez held the Mets to three hits, no walks and one run in 5 1⁄3 innings, striking out seven. In two starts since deciding to sign with the Brewers instead of the Mets — with both starts coincidentally coming against the Mets — Gonzalez has a 2.61 ERA, nine strikeouts and one walk.

Milwaukee’s top five hitters went 2-for-34 as the teams engaged in a futile offensive stalemate. The game lasted 5 hours and 22 minutes and was the longest by innings in Miller Park history.

Trying not to get swept, the Mets will do it all again Sunday — hopefully without playing two games’ worth of innings.

“You pay the price for playing 18 innings the next few days,” Callaway said. “You have to lean on people a little bit more than you would otherwise. Vargas is probably going to have to get to his pitch count no matter what. Things like that.”

How can the Mets bounce back? “Win. Simple as that,” Alonso said. “I think tomorrow is going to be a good day for us.”