On the Mets beat

Good afternoon Mets fans. Welcome to another game on the Mets blog. Today is a critical matchup as the Mets look to sweep the Brewers.

Mets (78-61) vs. Brewers (80-58); First pitch is scheduled for 2:05.

Starters: Oliver Perez (9-7, 4.60 ERA) will start for the Mets while Dave Bush (9-9, 4.12) will take the mound for the Brewers.

Last starts: Oliver Perez didn't have his best stuff in his last start, but he survived, giving up just three hits and two runs (one earned) in the Mets 5-4 win over the Marlins on August 29. Perez, who didn't get a decision, walked five batters. Althoug Perez has had a strong second half, the walks are beginning to pile up. He's walked three or more batters in seven of his last 10 starts.

Bush, 4-0 in his last five starts, is on a roll. In his last start he gave up just one run in 6 2/3 innings during a 3-1 win over Pittsburgh. He's given up just eight runs over his last 34 innings pitched.

Mets notes: The Mets bullpen has been excellent, striking out 15 batters in its last 13 innings, 13 scoreless innings that is. Another source of hope for the Mets has been the play of Carlos Beltran. Beltran is 14-for-35 with five home runs and 13 RBIs in his last nine games.

Top 1st: Jose Reyes popped out to second. Daniel Murphy lined a single up the middle. David Wright singled to centerfield, Murphy moved to third. Delgado singled down the rightfield line, scoring Murphy to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Wright moved to third. Carlos Beltran walked, loading the bases. Ryan Church hit a grand slam to rightfield to give the Mets a 5-0 lead. Luis Castillo grounded out to shortstop for the second out. Brian Schneider hit a solo home run to right to give the Mets a 6-0 lead. The Mets have scored 123 first-inning runs. They lead MLB in that statistic. Oliver Perez flied out to short centerfield.
Mets 6, Brewers 0

Bottom 1st: Ricky Weeks walked. J.J Hardy singled to leftfield. Weeks moved to second. Gabe Kapler flied out to rightfield. Ryan Braun flied out to right. Weeks moved to third. Corey Hart popped out to second for the final out.
Mets 6, Brewers 0

Top 2nd: Jose Reyes tripled to left centerfield. It was Reyes' 18th triple this year, a career high. Murphy popped out to shortstop. Wright fouled out to first base. Delgado struck out for the final out.
Mets 6, Brewers 0

Bottom 2nd: Mike Rivera flied out to right. Bill Hall struck out looking. Jason Kendall flied out to centerfield for the final out.
Mets 6, Brewers 0

Top 3rd: Beltran singled. Church grounded into a 5-6-3 double play, on a great play by Bill Hall, who robbed Church of a hit. Castillo grounded out to second to end the inning.
Mets 6, Brewers 0

Bottom 3rd: David Bush lined out to first. Weeks walked. Hardy walked. Weeks moved to second. Kapler struck out. Braun struck out swinging.
Mets 6, Brewers 0

Top 4th: Schneider grounded out to second base. Perez struck out. Jose Reyes walked. Reyes stole second base, the 281st of his career, tying Mookie Wilson as the Mets career leader. Murphy grounded out to first to end the inning.
Mets 6, Brewers 0

Bottom 4th: Hart flied out to right. Rivera popped out to shortstop. Hall flied out to right.
Mets 6, Brewers 0

Top 5th: Wright grounded out to shortstop. Delgado walked. Beltran popped out to second base. Church grounded out to third.
Mets 6, Brewers 0

Bottom 5th: Kendall doubled to leftfield. Joe Dillon is pinch hitting for Bush. Dillon struck out looking. Weeks popped out to first. Hardy struck out swinging.
Mets 6, Brewers 0

Top 6th: Seth McClung is pitching for the Bewers. Castillo lined out to shortstop. Schneider singled to leftfield. Perez grounded into a fielder's choice, forcing Schneider at second. Jose Reyes lined out to left.
Mets 6, Brewers 0

Bottom 6th: Kapler hit a ground-rule double to centerfield. Braun popped out to second. Hart doubled in the rightfield corner, scoring Kapler. Mets lead 6-1. Rivera walked. Hall popped out to the catcher for the second out. Kendall flied out to centerfield to end the inning.
Mets 6, Brewers 1

Top 7th: Murphy walked on four pitches. Wright struck out swinging, Murphy was thrown out trying to steal second for a double play. Delgado grounded out to second.
Mets 6, Brewers 1

Bottom 7th: Angel Salmome is pinch hitting. Salome flied out to right. Weeks popped out to shortstop. Hardy hit a solo home run to centerfield, cutting the Mets lead to 6-2. Kapler walked. Joe Smith is in to pitch for Perez. Braun struck out swinging to end the inning.
Mets 6, Brewers 2

Top 8th: Mitch Stetter (LHP) is pitching for the Brewers. Beltran walked. Church struck out swinging. Castillo walked. Fernando Tatis is pinch hitting for Schneider. Tatis popped out to second base. Nick Evans is pinch hitting. Beltran and Castillo stole third and second base, respectively. Evans singled to leftfield, scoring Beltran and Castillo to give the Mets an 8-2 lead. Jose Reyes fouled out to the catcher.
Mets 8, Brewers 2

Bottom 8th Duaner Sanchez is pitching for the Mets. Hart grounded out to shortstop. Rivera grounded out to third. Mat Gamel is pinch hitting for the Brewers. Gamel struck out looking.
Mets 8, Brewers 2

Top 9th: Tim Dillard is pitching for the Brewers. Murphy doubled off the left centerfield wall. Murphy moved to third on a wild pitch. Wright scored Murphy on a sacrifice fly to deep right centerfield. Delgado flied out to centerfield. Beltran struck out swinging.
Mets 9, Brewers 2

Bottom 9th: Scott Schoeneweis is pitching for the Mets. Brad Nelson is pinch hitting for the Brewers. Nelson grounded out to second base. Alcides Escobar is pinch hitting for the Brewers. Escobar singled to leftfield. Weeks grounded into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Final score: Mets 9, Brewers 2

The Mets improve to 79-61, while the Brewers drop to 80-59. Oliver Perez (10-7) gets the win and David Bush (9-10) gets the loss. The Mets head to Philadelphia for a three-game set beginning Friday. Good evening everyone.