(Photo credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images)

The Milwaukee Brewers haven't missed a beat since David Stearns left the team to become the president of baseball operations for the New York Mets following the 2023 season.

The transition hasn't been as smooth for Stearns and the Mets.

The Brewers will continue pursuing their fourth straight National League Central crown Tuesday night when they visit the last-place Mets in the opener of a three-game series.

Kyle Harrison (10-3, 2.84 ERA) is slated to start for the Brewers against fellow left-hander Zac Thornton (3-4, 3.04 ERA).

Both teams were off Monday after absorbing defeats Sunday. The Brewers missed a chance to complete a three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves with a 4-2 loss in the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa. The Mets fell to the host Chicago White Sox 2-1 in the rubber game of a three-game set.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Brewers, who enter Tuesday with the best record in the majors at 81-50 -- one game ahead of the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Brewers began Monday six games ahead of the second-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Milwaukee has made the playoffs seven times in the last eight seasons and won five division titles after reaching the playoffs just four times and winning three division crowns in the franchise's first 49 seasons.

The Brewers dodged a scare Sunday when center fielder Garrett Mitchell was plunked on the right forearm in the fourth inning by a Tyler Mahle fastball. Mitchell exited following the inning and went for X-rays, but he was diagnosed with only a contusion.

'Hurt, didn't feel good,' Mitchell said. 'But it's fine.'

The Brewers' active roster features 11 players signed, drafted or acquired by Stearns during his tenure as the club's general manager or president of baseball operations from October 2015 through October 2022. Stearns was an advisor to his successor, Matt Arnold, in 2023 before taking the Mets' job.

The Mets overcame a slow start in 2024 to reach the NL Championship Series and had the best record in baseball through mid-June last year. But New York collapsed and finished 83-79 as it missed the playoffs on the final day of the season.

Stearns overhauled the Mets' roster last winter, but Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr. and Devin Williams, who were added to replace franchise stalwarts Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Diaz, have struggled and spent time on the injured list.

New York, which endured a 12-game losing streak in April, entered Monday 12 games out of a playoff spot and in danger of finishing last in the NL East for the first time since 2003.

Despite trading seven veterans at the deadline, the Mets are 12-6 since Aug. 3. New York won four of its first five post-deadline series before suffering a pair of walk-off losses to the AL Central-leading White Sox.

'You come out of a series 1-2, you don't feel great about that,' interim Mets manager Andy Green said. 'But that was competitive.'

Harrison earned the win in his most recent start Aug. 18, when he tossed five scoreless innings as the Brewers routed the visiting Seattle Mariners 22-0. Thornton took the loss Aug. 18 after allowing three runs over five innings as the Mets fell to the visiting San Diego Padres 5-2.

Harrison didn't factor into the decision in his lone previous start against the Mets on May 24, 2024, when he allowed five runs (four earned) over four innings for the San Francisco Giants in their 8-7 road win. Thornton earned his first big league win in his only appearance against the host Brewers on July 21, when he tossed six scoreless innings in New York's 4-0 victory.

--Field Level Media