Fielder, Gomez help Brewers rally past Mets 8-7 in first game of doubleheader

Fielder, Gomez help Brewers rally past Mets

NEW YORK — Prince Fielder hit a tiebreaking single with two outs in the eighth inning and the Milwaukee Brewers rallied for an 8-7 victory over the New York Mets Wednesday night after squandering a six-run lead in the first game of a doubleheader.

Pinch-hitter Carlos Gomez walked, stole second and advanced to third when rookie catcher Mike Nickeas’ errant throw went into center field. He scored on Corey Hart’s tapper off Manny Acosta (3-2) between the mound and third base to tie it at 7 with two outs in the eighth.

Ryan Braun hit another infield single and Hisanori Takahashi relieved. Fielder followed with a sharp single to give the Brewers the lead a night after they blew a game in the ninth and lost to the Mets.

Carlos Villanueva (2-0) pitched an inning for the win and Brewers closer John Axford, who gave up the winning hit Tuesday, pitched the ninth for his 23rd save. Four Brewers relievers pitched 5 2-3 scoreless innings in relief of Yovani Gallardo.

David Wright reached 100 RBIs for the fifth time in seven years, hitting a go-ahead two-run homer in a five-run fourth inning for New York. Jose Reyes hit two doubles and an RBI triple for the Mets.

Just several hundred fans were in the stands at Citi Field for the high-scoring early innings of the opener of the twi-night doubleheader made necessary by a rainout Monday. Milwaukee’s Dave Bush was set to face the Mets’ R.A. Dickey in the nightcap.

The teams combined for 20 hits and 13 runs in the first four innings. The Brewers scored six in the third to stake Gallardo a 6-0 lead before the Mets rallied. Braun, scratched from Tuesday’s game with a stomach virus was the only Milwaukee position player without a hit in the big inning.

Gallardo, the Brewers ace who had been dominant in four September starts (3-0, 1.95 ERA), gave up a two-run single in the third to Chris Carter, and the Mets scored five more in the fourth.

Jose Reyes hit an RBI triple, his 10th three-base hit, and jumped up from his head-first slide and dashed home when second baseman Rickie Weeks’ relay to third skipped past Casey McGehee for an error. Lucas Duda followed with a homer to right and Wright connected for his 28th homer of the season for a 7-6 lead.

The Mets used seven relievers after the Brewers’ hit parade in the third quickly dashed Jonathon Niese’s attempt to become the first New York rookie to win 10 games since Rick Aguilera won that many in 1985.

After Gallardo struck out, Weeks and Hart hit back-to-back doubles for the first run. Then with two outs, the Brewers put together five straight hits for five more runs. Fielder, Jonathan Lucroy and Luis Cruz had RBIs, and Lorenzo Cain drove in two runs. Cruz’s hit knocked out Niese in his shortest outing since May 16, when he went two innings against Florida.

Niese, one of the bright spots this season for the disappointing Mets, has showed signs of tiring down the stretch in his first full big league season. He dropped to 1-6 with an 8.01 ERA in his last seven starts. The 23-year-old left-hander pitched 2 2-3 innings Tuesday, bringing his total for the season to 173 2-3 — up from 120 in the minors and majors last year — and gave up six runs and 10 hits.

NOTES: Each team left nine on base. … Angel Pagan was back in the Mets lineup after his daughter had eye surgery Wednesday morning. He stole his 36th base. … The Brewers were playing their first doubleheader since being swept by Philadelphia on Sept 14, 2008. … The Mets swept the Dodgers in April and split two with the Padres in June, both at home. … Nickeas got his first big league hit in the second.