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For the third consecutive game in Milwaukee, the Mets did not get a quality start from their starting pitcher. On Monday, it was Carlos Carrasco who struggled. On Tuesday, Max Scherzer unraveled in the sixth inning. On Wednesday, David Peterson was uneven, and, although he left the game with the lead, his outing left much to be desired.

The Mets confirmed on Wednesday that Justin Verlander showed reduced inflammation and he would continue throwing, but it’s unclear when the reigning AL Cy Young winner will suit up for the Mets. In the meantime, they will need Scherzer to regain his ace form, and the likes of Carrasco, Peterson, and Tylor Megill to give them productive innings. While Kodai Senga looked outstanding in his first start, he is also still adjusting to the major leagues.

The Mets were hoping that they would go into the season with Peterson and Megill as depth options, with Verlander and José Quintana joining Scherzer, Senga, and Carrasco in the rotation, but they have already experienced injuries to 40 percent of their ideal group.

While they wait to get healthy, they will need the starters they have to figure things out. While one or two bad outings for each of them shouldn’t signal doom and gloom, it is something to monitor as they Mets have now lost four of their first seven games.

While the Mets lost on Wednesday, they did see a much better offensive output than in their first two games in Milwaukee. Their six runs on Wednesday off of Corbin Burnes were mostly thanks to two players: Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. Lindor went 3-4 with 2 2Bs and 2 RBIs, while Alonso launched two mammoth home runs. Alonso has now accounted for three of the team’s five homers on the season.

If Wednesday’s production was a sign of Lindor and Alonso officially turning the corner, it’s a great sign for the Mets’ offense. Starling Marte also collected another extra-base hit on Wednesday and scored twice, another positive sign that the two straight shutouts on Monday and Tuesday were an aberration.

It’s easy to second-guess a manager’s bullpen moves when they don’t work, but it was curious to see Buck Showalter go to David Robertson in the eighth inning against the bottom part of the Brewers’ order and save Adam Ottavino for the ninth. While Robertson pitched a clean inning, Ottavaino gave up a walk-off home run to Garrett Mitchell to give the Brewers a series sweep. While the Mets don’t appear to have a set closer after losing Edwin Díaz, Robertson closed the Mets’ only save opportunity thus far this season, and has now pitched three innings without giving up a run.

After the game, Showalter pointed to the left-handed bats the Brewers were sending up as why he pitched Robertson in the eighth. Despite being a right-handed pitcher, Robertson has always pitched well against lefties.

Ottavino is going to have to be trusted in high-leverage situations if the Mets are going to have an above-average bullpen this season, and it was likely far too early to consider pitching Robertson for two innings at a time. However, it’s tough not to wonder if the results of the game would have been different had Showalter played the bullpen game differently.