MILWAUKEE (AP) — Center fielder Blake Perkins threw out Starling Marte at the plate to end the game as the surging Milwaukee Brewers hung on to defeat the slumping New York Mets 3-2 on Friday night.
Brice Turang hit a two-run homer for the Brewers, who improved to a major league-best 71-44 by earning their seventh consecutive victory in front of a season-high crowd of 43,469.
Marte and Juan Soto went deep for the Mets, who have lost five straight and nine of 10.
After Marte doubled on an 0-2 pitch from Trevor Megill with two outs in the ninth inning, Jeff McNeil singled to center. Perkins grabbed the ball on a bounce and made a one-hop throw to catcher William Contreras, who tagged out Marte.
The Mets challenged the call, but replays showed Contreras tagged a sliding Marte before the runner's left hand hit the plate.
Milwaukee scored all its runs in the fifth to erase a 2-0 deficit. Turang’s homer off Kodai Senga (7-4) tied the game, and Isaac Collins was hit on the shoe by an 0-2 pitch from Brooks Raley with the bases loaded to bring home the go-ahead run.
Brandon Woodruff (4-0) allowed solo homers to Soto in the first inning and Marte in the second, but the Mets got only three more hits the rest of the night. Woodruff struck out eight and walked two in seven innings.
Megill earned his 27th save in 30 opportunities.
Key moment
Milwaukee's fifth-inning outburst began when Perkins hit a high bouncer that got about halfway to the pitcher's mound. His speed appeared to hurry Senga, who mishandled the ball and never even threw to first. Senga's error set the stage for the Brewers' rally. Only one of the three runs Senga allowed was earned.
Key stat
The Brewers lost 20 of the first 22 games they played in which their opponent scored first. They have since gone 19-10 in those situations.
Up next
RHP Tobias Myers (1-1, 4.30 ERA) pitches for the Brewers as this three-game series continues Saturday. The Mets hadn't announced a scheduled starter.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Steve Megargee, The Associated Press