Francisco Lindor, pitching struggle as Mets gets roughed up by Brewers, 10-2

Ugly, sloppy baseball.

The Mets did nothing right in Wednesday’s 10-2 defeat to the Brewers, with the pitching staff and Francisco Lindor creating the most disappointment.

Lindor not only went 0-for-3 at the plate with two strikeouts, he flubbed a grounder that might’ve saved the Mets from such an embarrassing scoreline.

Simply put, it was a slog all night for the Mets. And Lindor’s botched play at shortstop was part of many layers of mud underneath. It was scored a clean single for Milwaukee’s Lorenzo Cain — and the ball was redirected after bouncing off pitcher Jake Reed’s foot — but Lindor would’ve ended the inning if he fielded it cleanly. Instead, the floodgates opened, the blowout commenced, and fans started trickling toward the parking lot.

“We self-inflicted some things,” manager Buck Showalter said

The Brewers scored seven runs in the fifth inning off three different pitchers — including six runs after Lindor’s fumble. Reed bore the brunt with five earned runs in 2/3 of an inning. He also walked in a run, leaving Showalter vulnerable to criticism for not going with one of his regular relievers while the score was still manageable.

“I consider all the options. But I actually thought with Reed’s ability and arm angle that we’d be able to get through that,” Showalter said. “Just didn’t happen.”

Lindor, meanwhile, was replaced in the eighth inning by JD Davis and is batting .125 with zero RBIs in his last eight games.

A night earlier, Mets starter Chris Bassitt was crisp and efficient while shutting out the Brewers over eight innings. David Peterson, the starter Wednesday night, was the opposite.

Peterson’s uphill climb started in the first inning, when he hit back-to-back batters and allowed two runs on Luis Urias’ single. Peterson was pulled in the fourth inning after conceding four runs on six hits, managing 41 strikes on his 73 pitches. Peterson also tossed a pickoff into the dirt for an error, which was the first of three throws to get past first baseman Pete Alonso on Wednesday.

“I was surprised,” Peterson said of being pulled in the fifth inning. “We had talked about it and [Showalter] made the decision that I wasn’t consistent enough throwing strikes. And he wanted to make a change.

“It’s his decision. I felt good physically. I felt like I could’ve kept going in the fifth and the sixth. But he didn’t like what he was seeing out of me.”

Milwaukee (35-29) won for just the third time in its last 14 games and didn’t need a single homer to hit double-digits. Ace Corbin Burnes picked up the win with six innings pitched, allowing two runs and five hits with eight strikeouts.

The Mets (41-23) had their NL East lead cut to four games because the Braves won again, topping the Nationals on Wednesday night for a 14th consecutive victory.

Jeff McNeil drove in both the Mets’ runs, including a solo homer in the fourth inning.

MARTE DAY-TO-DAY

Starling Marte, who went 1-for-2, left the game after getting hit by Burnes’ pitch in his right forearm. X-rays were negative and he’s listed as day-to-day with a contusion.

“I try not talk about too much that I don’t know medically but talked to our trainer and he felt good about the X-ray,” Showalter said. “Hoping that he comes in tomorrow and it’s manageable.

“I’m hoping we got lucky again. Obviously, he’s going to have some swelling there.”