It took an entire second game for the Mets to break a deadlock after tying it in the ninth, but Chris Flexen blew it in the bottom of the 18th as the Mets took a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Brewers. They fell under .500 for the first time this season. >> Box score

Seven things to know about Saturday's game...

1) Jeff McNeil finally broke the 2-2 tie in the 18th inning with an RBI single, driving in Adeiny Hechavarria. Finally the game will end, and the Mets will pull it out, right? Wrong. Flexen, in his second inning of work and the final available arm in the Mets' bullpen, walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the 18th and Ryan Braun hit a two-run single to hand the Mets a devastating loss which exhausted their pen. Flexen had gotten out of a jam in the 17th after putting the first two batters on.

2) McNeil, who recorded all three of his hits in extra innings, gave the Mets the lead after Hechavarria recorded a two-out single and stole second base to put himself in scoring position. That aggressiveness should've led to a Mets win, but it wasn't meant to be.

3) The Mets were on the brink in the ninth having gotten next to no offense, recording just three hits through eight innings and none from the fifth through the eighth. But Pete Alonso did a Pete Alonso thing, sitting back on a first-pitch curveball to begin the ninth and crushing it to right-center field to tie the game 2-2. Alonso has 10 homers and 27 RBI this season.

4) They wasted Zack Wheeler's strong, bounce-back outing. He allowed two runs in seven innings, giving up six hits and a walk with 10 strikeouts. The two runs came in the third inning after Wheeler committed a throwing error on a pickoff attempt, allowing Ben Gamel to reach second. After allowing four runs in his last start, Wheeler tied a season-high with 111 pitches and notched his second double-digit strikeout game of the year.

5) Amed Rosario, who had an RBI triple in the second inning to give the Mets a brief 1-0 lead, had a brutal night in the field. Rosario booted a Yasmani Grandal grounder in the sixth inning and comitted his second error in the 15th when a ball off the bat of Hernan Perez defelcted off Robert Gsellman and Rosario flubbed it.. He now has nine errors in 31 games after committing 16 errors in 146 games last season. Rosario also failed to field Michael Conforto's throw from right field in the 14th on Ryan Braun's shallow double. Had he fielded it cleanly, he would've had a chance to tag Braun out at second. He wasn't charged with an error on the play. Now that the Mets have a legitimate shortstop alternative in Adiney Hechavarria, Rosario could lose some playing time if he doesn't improve.

6) Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman each came up big for the Mets in relief, tossing three scoreless innings apiece. Lugo took over at the start of the ninth and gave up one hit and struck out two. Gsellman worked the 14th, 15th and 16th innings and had four strikeouts. Edwin Díaz entered into a tie game on the road, which runs counter to the Mets' plans for him in road games, and worked a perfect 12th inning. He had allowed a solo home run in each of his previous two appearances.Daniel Zamora worked a perfect eighth before Lugo entered the game. The bullpen tossed 10 shutout innings before Flexen lost the game.

7) At the end of the 12th, Alonso had the Mets' only two hits over the previous eight innings. Robinson Canó went 0-for-7. McNeil and Alonso combined for half of the Mets' 10 hits, and Hechavarria, who didn't start, went 2-for-4. The Mets had far too many non-competitive at-bats and they're still struggling mightily at the plate, hitting .212 as a team in their last 10 games with a .194 average with runners in scoring position.

Highlights

Video: Jeff McNeil puts the Mets ahead in the 18th inning

Video: Pete Alonso's 10th HR draws the Mets even in the 9th

Video: Amed Rosario?s RBI triple gets the Mets on the board

What's next

The Mets finish their three-game set in Milwaukee Sunday at 2:10 p.m. LHP Jason Vargas will start for the Mets, while the Brewers will send RHP Zach Davies to the mound.

Seven things to know about Saturday's game...

What's next

HARPER: Pete Alonso reveals where his inspiration lies in being complete hitter >> Read more

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