On Saturday, August 9, 2025, at American Family Field in Milwaukee, the New York Mets used Reed Garrett as an opener against the Milwaukee Brewers to avoid Frankie Montas’ first-inning struggles, and Garrett retired all three batters in the first inning. Montas entered in the second, gave up consecutive one-out singles, issued a two-out walk to load the bases, and saw a fielding error by shortstop Francisco Lindor bring in two runs.
In the third inning, Montas issued a walk and threw a wild pitch, but did not give up a run, then in the fourth inning, Brice Turang hit a solo home run, his second in consecutive games. Montas threw 72 pitches over three innings, surrendering three runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks.
The outing forced the Mets to use high-leverage relievers Gregory Soto and Tyler Rogers earlier than planned, and including Garrett, they used six pitchers in the game, which ended in a 7-4 Brewers win and the Mets’ sixth straight loss.
- Frankie Montas lasted only three innings after following opener Reed Garrett, allowing three runs (one earned) as his Mets ERA rose to 6.38 in eight outings.
- The Mets blew a 6-1 lead in a 7-6 loss to the Brewers, their seventh straight defeat, falling 5.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East.
- Mets starters have gone 51 consecutive games without two different pitchers reaching six innings, forcing the bullpen to throw 209.2 innings over the last 49 games.
Mendoza Addresses Montas’ Rotation Status
Before Sunday’s series finale in Milwaukee, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was asked about Montas’ rotation status, saying, “We haven’t made a decision. As of now, he’s still in line. Have to get through today’s game… right now, we haven’t had any discussions.”
Carlos Mendoza is asked about the plan moving forward for Frankie Montas:
“We haven’t made a decision. As of now, he’s still in line. Have to get through today’s game…right now, we haven’t had any discussions.” pic.twitter.com/VP4yZTcDdK
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 10, 2025
Montas, 32, signed a two-year, $34 million contract with the Mets in the offseason, but a right lat strain during early spring training delayed his debut until the summer. In eight appearances (seven starts) with the Mets, he has a 6.38 ERA, a 1.56 WHIP, and 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings while giving up eight home runs in 36.2 innings, and during six minor league rehab starts, he had a 12.05 ERA and gave up eight home runs in 18.2 innings.
Rotation Options and Injury Updates
If the Mets change their rotation, Triple-A Syracuse pitchers Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean are candidates, with Sproat giving up three runs over six innings on Thursday, August 7, and McLean pitching four innings of one-run ball on Sunday, August 10, in his first start on four days’ rest this season.
Veteran Paul Blackburn, recovering from a right shoulder impingement, gave up three runs (two earned) over 5.2 innings in his fourth rehab start for Syracuse on Friday, and in six games (four starts) with the Mets this season, he is 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA and a 1.98 WHIP. Tylor Megill, recovering from a right elbow sprain, threw live batting practice on Thursday and may soon begin a rehab assignment. And in 14 starts this year, he is 5-5 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.
Mets Lose Lead in Series Finale Against Brewers
On Sunday, August 10, 2025, the Mets lost 7-6 to the Brewers after leading 6-1, as Milwaukee tied the game 6-6 in the eighth inning and Isaac Collins hit a walk-off home run off Edwin Díaz in the ninth. The loss was the Mets’ seventh in a row and 11th in their last 12 games, dropping them 5.5 games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies. Mendoza said, “It’s hard to describe. Tough, frustrating. But we’ve got to turn the page. We have to keep going. We have to find a way to start getting victories. That wasn’t a good showing. They pretty much outplayed us.”
Betting Market Movement During Losing Streak
For Tuesday, August 12, 2025, against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field, multiple sportsbooks list the Mets as slight favorites with moneyline odds around -140, totals set at 8 runs, and the run line at Mets -1.5 near +150, with FanDuel and DraftKings listing similar numbers and Oddsshark projecting a close score simulation slightly favoring Atlanta.
In World Series futures, BetMGM lists the Mets at +1400, VegasInsider’s consensus lists them at +1000, and FanDuel recently had them near +850; in December 2024, after signing Juan Soto, their odds moved to +800 at DraftKings and FanDuel, and Caesars’ opening post-2024 line had the Mets at +700.
Slumps Among Key Hitters
Francisco Lindor is batting .191 with a .602 OPS over his last 50 games since June 12, Pete Alonso — who tied Darryl Strawberry for second on the Mets’ all-time home run list with 252 — is batting .168 with a .593 OPS over his last 26 games, Brandon Nimmo has struck out 26 times in his last 58 at-bats and has a .476 OPS with a .269 on-base percentage, and Juan Soto is batting .189 with a .757 OPS over his last 25 games.
Nimmo said, “We can go on a run. We’ve still got time. It just takes putting it together, playing some good baseball. I don’t think the division is slipping away. We’re still within shot. This team specifically has been known to go on runs. We can easily rattle off a winning streak, especially with the people we got here. But it’s going to take turning it around.”
Rotation Struggles and Bullpen Usage
Mets starting pitchers have gone 51 consecutive games without two different pitchers recording at least six innings in a start, the longest single-season streak since at least 1901, and since June 13, Mets starters have pitched 220 innings while the bullpen has pitched 209.2 innings.
Mendoza said, “We saw [Taylor] Rogers a third day in a row [on Sunday]. We’re asking a lot of the bullpen. Reed Garrett, before you know it, he’s pitching in the fifth inning [after opening on Saturday]. Raley went two ups on Friday, he’s not available [Saturday], and then we ask him to pitch a full inning [Sunday]. We have to get our starters going.”
Current Standings and Remaining Schedule
The Mets are 19-31 in their last 50 games, the third-worst record in the majors over that span, and hold the final NL Wild Card position 1.5 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds. They will face the Phillies seven more times, beginning later in August at Citi Field, and will next play the Atlanta Braves, who recently won four of five games against the Miami Marlins.
Mendoza said, “We just gotta go out and do it. We have the talent, we have the players, but we have to start playing better baseball and just go out and get the job done. I know it’s frustrating, we’re all frustrated in here, but we just have to keep going because nobody said it was going to be easy.”
