McGehee and Hart notch 100 RBIs, Brewers beat sloppy Mets 9-2.

By Howie Rumberg, AP
Thursday, September 30, 2010

McGehee, Hart reach 100 RBIs, Brewers beat Mets

NEW YORK — Casey McGehee got to 100 RBIs in the ninth inning on one of several sloppy plays by the Mets and Corey Hart reached 100 RBIs two batters later as the Milwaukee Brewers beat New York 9-2 Thursday night.

Chris Narveson matched a season high with nine strikeouts and Lorenzo Cain hit a two-run double after All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes dropped a routine popup, helping the Brewers win for the seventh time in nine games.

The loss ensured the Mets will finish with a second straight losing season. New York (77-82) struck out 13 times in dropping its third in a row to the Brewers.

After finishing 70-92 last year, New York wraps up its second season at Citi Field with a three-game set against Washington. The sparse but lively crowd let the Mets know how they felt throughout this comical effort.

With runners at first and third and one out in the second, Alicides Escobar hit a hard, high chopper off third baseman David Wright’s glove for a hit that drove in Milwaukee’s first run against prospect Dillon Gee (2-2). Matt Lucroy followed with an RBI grounder.

In the fifth, Hart hit a two-out pop fly and Reyes barely had to move to settle under it. But the ball hit off his glove and fell to the infield dirt for an error. Cain’s double made it 4-1.

The boos for Reyes escalated after he struck out leading off the bottom half of the fifth.

The Mets cut it to 4-2 in the seventh on Josh Thole’s RBI double. But in the ninth, it all fell apart for New York.

Reliever Sean Green walked pinch-hitter Chris Dickerson with one out and then hit Rickie Weeks with a pitch. After Ryan Braun singled in a run, McGehee, batting in the No. 3 hole for a shot at his 100th RBI, hit a tapper in front of home plate.

Thole, the catcher, threw it wide of first for an error allowing Weeks to scamper home. Ike Davis made a poor throw home to allow the runners to advance to second and third. McGehee could be seen on the replay smiling and mouthing to his dugout: “Was it a hit?”

Hart and Cain had RBI hits, with Hart driving in Braun for his 100th run, and Manny Acosta walked Lucroy with the bases loaded for another run. Three of the five runs were earned.

Narveson (12-9) got a sliding catch from Braun in left field to start the seventh and needed little else from his fielders in making a strong bid for a spot in the rotation next season. Fielder did make a lunging grab behind first base of a stray piece of paper caught in the wind that was gusting up to 39 mph, getting a nice cheer from the sparse but lively crowd.

A converted starter, Narveson threw a first-pitch strike to 12 of his first 14 batters. The two batters to get ahead in the count 1-0 walked.

Mike Hessman — the second walk — ended up scoring in the fourth on Lucas Duda’s double. Of Duda’s 14 career hits, nine have gone for extra bases.

Narveson gave up four hits in 6 2-3 innings. He won for the second time in six September starts, but came in with a 3.52 ERA in the month.

Gee labored through six innings in his fifth big league start. He yielded seven hits, three walks and four runs — two earned.

NOTES: Brewers owner Mark Attanasio thanked his players in a clubhouse address before the game. Attanasio said he’ll meet with general manager Doug Melvin on Friday in New York to discuss planning for next season. … Brewers manager Ken Macha said LHP Randy Wolf will start Sunday. … Mets OF Nick Evans had an MRI exam on his left, non-throwing shoulder, and results were negative.

(This version CORRECTS Brewers 9, Mets 2. Corrects to ninth inning in 1st paragraph, adds Braun scoring 100th run.)

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