The New York Mets bounced back on Tuesday against the Brewers, routing Milwaukee 7-2 to even up the series. David Peterson pitched six strong innings in his first start since being demoted to Triple-A in May, and the offense backed him up by homering four times.

The Mets’ win came at a dire moment in the season. Before Tuesday’s matchup, Billy Eppler publicly spoke about the state of the team, and Steve Cohen announced he would speak to the media before Wednesday’s game.

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Peterson’s night almost went south after he ran into trouble in the first inning. The left-hander induced a ground-out from the first batter of the game, but allowed a single and two walks consecutively to load the bases. With the game on the line early, Peterson threw Owen Miller a first-pitch curveball and induced an inning-ending double-play to keep the Brewers off the board.

Peterson settled in after escaping the bases-loaded jam in the first inning, allowing only one walk and four hits across his last four innings. As he worked deeper into the game, Peterson’s pitches sharpened, and he struck out five batters in his last 2 1/3 innings pitched.

While he wasn’t dominant, Peterson gave the Mets a much-desired start. He threw a career-high 110 pitches in six scoreless innings while striking out five and walking three. It was the first start of 2023 where Peterson didn’t allow an earned run, and the start lowered his ERA from 8.08 to 7.00.

“Yeah I think he had them off balance a little bit,” Nimmo said about Peterson after the game. “He was throwing good pitches, and throwing strikes. (Peterson) really attacked well when we had the lead and that gave him the confidence to attack these guys. I thought he did an amazing job and hopefully, it’s something he can build off of.”

Meanwhile, the Mets’ offense backed their starter, scoring seven runs behind four long balls. Brandon Nimmo was responsible for two of the Mets’ four home runs, clubbing a solo home run in the fourth, and a two-run homer in the fifth. Nimmo has hit six home runs in the month of June and is on pace to break his season high of 17 from 2018.

Francisco Lindor followed Nimmo in the fifth inning by clubbing his 200th career home run. The 29-year-old became the ninth shortstop in MLB history to club 200 home runs, and the first Puerto-Rican born shortstop to reach the milestone. Lindor also became the fifth shortstop to reach 200 home runs in his first nine seasons.

The Mets bullpen took over in the seventh inning, leading the Mets’ to their eventual 7-2 win. Jeff Brigham was the sore thumb out of himself, Drew Smith, and Dominic Leone, and surrendered the only two runs of the night. Leone came in with two outs in the eighth to bail out the former Marlin, and finished the game in the top of the ninth.

The Mets secured a rare Tuesday win over the Brewers. New York is now 2-10 on Tuesdays in 2023, and improved their record to 36-43.

Player of the Game

In a night of many stars, Peterson took home the player of the game nod. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and pushed his way through six innings. It was a desperately needed positive for Peterson, who struggled mightily in the first two months of the season. 

On Deck 

Kodai Senga gets the start for the Mets in the rubber game of the series. Senga struck out six batters in his last start against Philadelphia, but the bad defense behind him allowed two unearned runs in a 5-1 loss. 

The Mets will face Wade Miley on Wednesday. The 36-year-old is enjoying a renaissance in his career and has a 2.91 ERA in 10 starts.

First pitch for Wednesday night’s game is set for 7:10 p.m. The game is available to watch on SNY and MLB Network (blackout restrictions apply), and can be listened to on WCBS 880.