Mets manager Carlos Mendoza doesn’t feel his team is playing “tight,” despite their playoff chances dwindling. Instead, he believes Saturday’s 6-0 loss was more a credit to the Brewers, who utilized a bullpen day to virtually shut down New York’s bats.

Joey Ortiz drove in three runs for Milwaukee and the New York Mets mustered just two hits as their playoff hopes sustained another blow with a 6-0 loss to the Brewers on Saturday night. New York (87-72) lost its third straight and fell one game behind Atlanta (88-71) in the NL wild card race when the Braves beat Kansas City 2-1 on a ninth-inning,

The opportunity for October baseball is still there for the Mets, but what could have been a statement weekend and relatively easy path to the playoffs has turned into a stressful slog. Saturday night the Mets went meekly in a third straight game,