Mets chose the wrong time for their latest low-cost clunker

MILWAUKEE — About 36 hours after escaping a natural disaster in the South, the Mets caused a debacle of their own making, imploding minutes into a crucial game with ace Sean Manaea on the mound. The Mets are still in control of their own destiny after their opening game loss here, although that’s not exactly a huge blessing considering how they’re playing in their biggest game of the season.

The current scorecard for the trip that will decide this season is as follows: Braves one win, Brewers one win, Hurricane Helene two rainouts, Mets two no-show games.

This certainly wasn’t the time for one of the worst performances of the season, but that’s exactly what it was. There were almost no encouraging events.

Manaea didn’t look like himself at all, and the Mets’ lineup didn’t come together nearly enough against Frankie Montas and Co., who shut out the Yankees. Additionally, Mets star Francisco Lindor, playing his first full game in two weeks, doesn’t look 100 percent, no matter what anyone says. He just seemed to stick it out.

To add insult to injury, noted Mets tormentor Rhys Hoskins once again played the villain, hitting a grand slam in the first inning of the Mets’ 8-4 loss. Not that anyone gets to pick their winners, but Hoskins has already been reviled in the Mets clubhouse.

This Hoskins hate started when he was back in Philly, but he killed the Mets in the first week of that season when he won a game with his hitting heroics after hitting Jeff McNeil (remember him?) with a hard one sliding into second base had upset. Then, six months later, he dared to start on that final weekend of the season. His two-out, two-strike home run to left basically decided everything after 20 minutes.

The Mets have two games left here and a chance. But they have to take it up.

Give plenty of credit to the up-and-coming Brewers from arguably the smallest MLB market (Milwaukee and Cincinnati have held that title for years). They field, they run the bases (they stole at will on Friday) and they win, securing the No. 3 seed and home field for their wild-card series — whether they play the Mets or someone else .

The game was almost meaningless for Milwaukee, yet they started with their “A” lineup and played close to their “A” game. Good for you. But bad for the Mets.

For the team from Queens, this attempt was almost a complete failure. They were playing in a competition they “had to win” (coach Carlos Mendoza) after fleeing Atlanta, and they didn’t give themselves a chance.

However, I can’t say they didn’t show fire. Mendoza was ejected for freaking out home plate umpire Ramon De Jesus after De Jesus called out Francisco Alvarez on a pitch that appeared below the strike zone with two outs and two outs in the fourth. That happened after Alvarez — who later left with back spasms — hopped around and threw his helmet to the ground.

There is reason to scream. The final schedule, which looked difficult, took a significant turn for the worse when the possibility of a flight south and a return trip to Atlanta on Monday to make up the two lost games came into play.

Even if the Mets get through this weekend well, their pitching depth will be tested with the prospect of two games on Monday before the start of a potential playoff series on Tuesday. This matchup could happen again next week if the Mets are lucky enough to beat the Braves or Diamondbacks. And if so, the small team from this beautiful Midwestern city will have almost every advantage.

That’s not just because the Mets’ decent strength will be severely depleted by then, but also because the Brewers honestly appear to be the better team. These little things they do can add up, right?

As if the Mets didn’t have enough to worry about, former MVP candidate Lindor didn’t really resemble himself. He managed a leg kick, but struck with an unusually weak swing and made a rare throwing error while playing through a back problem. Although both he and team staff kept saying he was fine, he didn’t look it.

The whole team doesn’t seem quite right either. But even though this journey has been nothing short of disastrous so far, remarkably her circumstances are still not entirely dire. They just need to beat one of the Braves or Diamondbacks, who have similar records and other weaknesses. The Braves can pitch, but they can’t hit. The D’backs are the opposite: good hitters but suspect pitchers.

Right now, it looks like the Mets can’t accomplish much. But as we know, things can change quickly. The Mets came back from an 0-5 start and 11 games under .500 and prepared for a possible playoff appearance. But they’re returning to their previous games at the worst possible time and simply can’t play like they did on Friday when they expect to get where they want to go.