None of that stopped this from turning into a legitimate battle. Milwaukee carries the far better resume — its NL Central lead has been comfortable for weeks — but the Mets have shown flashes under interim manager Andy Green, and Thornton in particular has been the kind of story that makes a rebuilding season worth watching.
The game played out as a grind. Milwaukee broke through first, then New York answered with single runs in back-to-back innings to take the lead, only for the Brewers to tie it right back up late. It stayed tight all night before the Mets pushed across the winning run in extras, and the final box tells the rest — 11 hits for the home club, a clean game in the field against one Brewers error.
It's the kind of result that won't move the standings picture much — Milwaukee's still the class of the division — but it's a real data point for a Mets team trying to find something to build on, and another line on Thornton's résumé that the front office can't ignore.