Brewers prove to Mets they would be rough playoff opponent: ‘Like a football team’

MILWAUKEE — It is unclear if the Mets will be playing in October, but this weekend began with the club getting a good look at what an October team plays like. 

The Brewers run.

They are the aggressor and await others’ mistakes.

They play defense.

They get leads and hold leads.

Their position-player group is the third youngest in baseball and performs with the kind of daily energy you would expect from an athletic, up-and-coming club. 

A Milwaukee team that is merely middle of the pack in home runs entered play Saturday tied with the Orioles for the fifth-most runs scored in baseball. 

“It’s like a football team,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Friday. “We’ve got to be able to beat you in more than one way.” 

The Brewers beat the Mets in the series opener Friday at American Family Field in just about every way. They used the long ball in the first inning, when Rhys Hoskins launched a grand slam.

They ran all over the Mets, racking up six steals without getting caught and advancing three more times on two wild pitches and a passed ball. 

Only the Nationals have stolen more bases than the Brewers this season. It is not just the total number of thefts but where they have come from: Entering Saturday, 10 different Brewers had swiped at least nine bases, virtually everyone a threat. 

“We’re going to run every time we’re on base,” Murphy said before taking advantage of Francisco Alvarez and a Mets pitching staff that was too slow to the plate. 

The Mets rank 19th in throwing runners out, better since adding Luis Torrens and ditching Omar Narvaez but still not particularly strong.

If Carlos Mendoza’s group finds its way to the postseason, it would not be surprising if teams such as the Brewers exploit them on the bases. 

The Brewers are locked in as the No. 3 seed in the National League and await a matchup with whomever, from the Mets to the Braves to the Diamondbacks, winds up with the third wild card.

If a date with the NL Central champions felt preferable to a face-off with the No. 4 seed Padres a few days ago, perhaps Friday’s game served as a reminder that the Brewers do a lot right. 

Playing for nothing because their seed is guaranteed, Murphy signaled he wouldn’t use any relievers on back-to-back days.

After Frankie Montas lasted just four innings — the Brewers rotation is merely OK — Murphy turned to a bullpen that has been the second-best in baseball and didn’t even bother using his best arm in Devin Williams. 

Joe Ross, Hoby Milner and Trevor Megill shut down Mets bats for the final five innings, lowering the group’s ERA to 3.16.

Only the Guardians’ 2.59 ERA was better. 

The Brewers rarely blow leads, with the second-best save percentage in the game, and they do not hand over games, which includes excellent defensive work. 

Only the Royals entered play with a slightly better grade at Statcast’s Runs Prevented.

At least in the Gold Glove conversations will be Brice Turang (second base), Joey Ortiz (third base) and Sal Frelick (right field).

Perhaps rookie Jackson Chourio, too, but he has split time at the corner outfield spots. 

“We’ve got a bunch of young energy. Young energy that love to play,” Murphy said. “We’re a really good baserunning team. We’re a really good defensive team. … You’ve got to do a lot of different things. Not everybody’s going to be able to do those things, but you can’t put all your eggs in one basket.”