5 Brewers to blame for Game 1 loss to Mets in NL Wild Card

The Milwaukee Brewers ended up the wrong end of an 8-4 scoreboard in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Round. Despite being all tuckered out after a double-header on Monday, the New York Mets found the energy to blast Milwaukee's pitching to smithereens on the road. It was a true collective effort, parlaying seven hits and five walks into eight runs.

We are here to assign blame, and there are a few painfully obvious candidates. The Brewers' offense was quite excellent for half the game, then fell apart down the stretch. It was actually a 2-0 Brewers lead after one inning, then 4-3 at the end of four. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, New York was able to scrounge together five runs in the fifth inning after Pat Murphy turned it over to the bullpen.

Ironically enough, it was the Mets who outlasted the more rested Brewers, transforming a night of poor sleep and scattered nerves into a wholly impressive performance that is sure to rile up the Mets fandom and build momentum going into Game 2.

Since the MLB began its current postseason structure, 88 percent of teams to win Game 1 of the Wild Card round moved on to the divisional series. Milwaukee is fighting an uphill battle, even with home-field advantage.

Let's hand out blame.

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Milwaukee needed more than four innings from Freddy Peralta

The Brewers went with Freddy Peralta on the bump to start Game 1, as expected. The 28-year-old has been Milwaukee's most bankable ace all season, but he didn't have his best stuff on Tuesday. It was not a catastrophic performance on paper — two hits, one walk, leading to three earned runs — but it was enough to shake Pat Murphy's faith.

That led to an early switch to the bullpen, and that's all she wrote. Peralta didn't even get the loss, as he technically out-dueled Luis Severino of the Mets, but every run counts in the postseason and New York was able to wrack up a few early on the Brewers' righty.

So, Peralta certainly does not deserve the most blame, but he is absolutely in the circle of criticism as Milwaukee's season hangs by a thread.

Pat Murphy took Freddy Peralta out too early and felt the consequences

So much of coaching is luck. Pat Murphy took Freddy Peralta out after four innings of two-hit, three-run baseball. Peralta probably had another inning or two in the tank, but instead of overextending his All-Star ace, Murphy went to the red-hot Joel Payamps.

And look, on paper, it was a sound strategy. Here's how Murphy laid it out to reporters.

Unfortunately, after 12 straight hitless outings, Payamps was due for a stinker. And stink it up he did, allowing two hits, a walk, and three earned runs in two-tenths of an inning before Murphy subbed in Aaron Ashby.

So... we need to blame Murphy for questionable bullpen management that obviously did not pan out.

Joel Payamps finally messed up at the worst possible time

Joel Payamps entered Tuesday's game with a 1.03 ERA over his last 30 appearances, as Murphy points out, and 12 straight scoreless outings. He has been a middle-relief staple for Milwaukee over the final half of the season. So, naturally, Payamps completely imploded on national TV in Game 1. It was quite bad. The 30-year-old coughed up a run and couldn't even finish the inning before Murphy was forced to pivot.

It's especially crushing since Milwaukee only got four innings out of Peralta. We can probably divide the blame evenly between Peralta and Murphy for that, but when a reliever enters the game with a one-run lead in the fifth inning, you'd prefer a bit of longevity and efficiency. Instead, Payamps handed the lead right back to New York and the Mets just didn't let go.

After Payamps got shelled (and took the loss in the official record book), Aaron Ashby was called in to do damage control. He, uh, did not succeed.

Aaron Ashby couldn't clean up the Brewers' mess in time

Aaron Ashby inherited runners on first and second with two outs in a time ballgame. From there, he let Payamps' remaining base runners score and coughed up a couple ERs of his own, finishing with three hits, two walks, and two earned runs allowed in... zero innings. He couldn't even record a single out. Nick Mears had to finish the fifth inning before Aaron Civale ate three innings to close out the loss.

So, while Payamps will take the majority of the heat for statistical reasons, Ashby was the pitcher responsible for New York blowing the roof off of this game. Rather than pitch out of a jam and give the Brewers' offense a shot, Ashby let the Mets build and build momentum.

Postseason pressure is real, but allowing five straight base runners in a tie ballgame is unforgivable. Ashby is probably the most "responsible" of Milwaukee's pitchers, or at least the one who comes away with the brunt of the blame. You can't control what happened before you, only what happens once you're in the game.

Rhys Hoskins, noted Mets Killer, did not kill the Mets

Rhys Hoskins was supposed to be Milwaukee's secret weapon — a slugging machine signed for extra cheap in the offseason with significant October experience. This was the perfect series to showcase Hoskins, who made a career of torturing the Mets while he played in Philadelphia.

Unfortunately, after setting high expectations late in the regular season, Hoskins failed to deliver on the big stage. He finished the game 0-for-3 with an RBI on a first-inning HBP. We can't really credit Hoskins for the HBP, but we can give him (negative) credit for grounding into an innings-ending double play in the third with runners on the corners.

That would've tied the game and perhaps swung the momentum further in Milwaukee's direction. Instead, Hoskins went hitless the rest of the way and watched as the Brewers' chances of victory evaporated.

New York retired the last 16 Milwaukee hitters. Hoskins certainly isn't the only Brewers batter deserving of blame, but he does stand out.