In a high-scoring affair that included a fire just outside of Citi Field and back-and-forth action on the field, the Milwaukee Brewers came back from a two-run deficit in the ninth inning to down the New York Mets, 11-9.
The Brewers got on the board first, using a two-run home run by Ryan Braun to take the early lead in the first inning. New York answered back in the bottom-half of the inning, cutting the Brewers lead to one on an RBI single by Jason Bay that scored Justin Turner.
Milwaukee used the long-ball again in the third, with Prince Fielder putting the Brewers on top by four with a three-run blast. The homers kept coming as Yuniesky Betancourt went yard in the sixth to give the Brewers a commanding 7-1 lead over the Mets. After giving up seven runs on five hits in 5.2 innings, Chris Capuano's day was done.
It all fell apart for the Brewers in the seventh as the Mets teed-off on Randy Wolf and Takashi Saito, plating five runs to cut the Brewers lead to just one. Suddenly within striking distance, the Mets took advantage in the eighth, scoring three runs to take the lead for the first time. Angel Pagan put New York over the top, stepping up to the plate with two outs and hitting a two-run shot to give the Mets the lead, 9-7.
But in the top of the ninth, Milwaukee came storming back, scoring four runs in quick succession to retake the lead, 11-9. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Mark Kotsay walked to plate a run as Jason Isringhausen struggled with inconsistency. Isringhausen earned the hook after giving up a run while walking three without getting an out in the ninth. Manny Acosta didn't fare much better as he gave up an RBI single to Casey McGehee and a two-run single to Prince Fielder, putting the Brewers up by two heading into the bottom of the ninth.
John Axford pitched a scoreless ninth, without allowing a hit, to slam the door for the Brewers.
At some point during the festivities, a large fire erupted about a block beyond the center field wall, creating the illusion that Citi Field had caught fire. As we found out soon after, the fire was about a block away, though the plumes of smoke appeared much closer to the stadium than they were.
With the win, the Brewers improved the 75-52 on the season. The Mets fell to 60-65 with the loss after blowing a late-inning lead. I'm sure there's a fire metaphor in here somewhere.
For more on this game, head over to Brew Crew Ball, for Milwaukee fans, and Amazin Avenue, for Mets fans.