In a matchup of Cy Young Award winners, it was a sigh evening for the Milwaukee Brewers as Max Scherzer and the New York Mets beat Corbin Burnes and the Crew 7-2 to clinch their first playoff appearance in six years.
Scherzer was untouchable for the Mets, working six perfect innings before giving way to the bullpen. He retired all 18 batters he faced, nine of them by strikeout to earn the 200th win of his career.
Burnes meanwhile, continued his second half struggles by giving up five runs on seven hits in five and two thirds innings, the big blow, a three run home run from Pete Alonzo, his 36th of the year, in the fourth inning.
The Mets (94-55) continued to add on while the Brewers managed only four hits for the game, avoiding the shutout when Rowdy Tellez hit his 32nd long ball of the season, a two run shot in the bottom of the 7th.
While New York secured a post-season appearance, they remain just one game ahead of the Atlanta Braves, a 5-2 winner over the Washington Nationals Monday night, in the race for the National League East Division title. The Brewers meanwhile, had to watch the Mets celebrate while failing to gain ground on the idle Padres and Phillies in their big for a Wild Card. Milwaukee (78-69) is now two and a half games behind the Phillies and three back of the Padres for a playoff spot with only 15 games left to play.
Aaron Ashby (2-10) will come off the injured list to start game two of the series against 15 game winner Carlos Carrasco Tuesday night. Pre-game coverage begins at 6:05 PM with a 6:40 PM first pitch on WTAQ.
