The Mets are being blanked by the Brewers as their path to the MLB playoffs becomes more difficult

Atlanta, Arizona and the Mets were all tied for the two remaining NL wild card spots at the start of the evening.

Atlanta was one game ahead with a walk-off win over Kansas City, but Arizona lost to San Diego.

That means the Mets can still clinch a wild card spot on Sunday, assuming they can beat the Brewers and the Diamondbacks lose.

The Mets have a tiebreaker with Arizona based on winning the season series.

“Three games won’t define the way we played, but we have to win,” said coach Carlos Mendoza. “We have to play better. We have to do it and find a way (Sunday).”

Are the Mets getting tight at the wrong time?

“I’m not necessarily worried about it,” Pete Alonso said. “I just think we played two good teams and not our best baseball. You can't win a game with two goals. They played really well today and we didn’t do our part offensively.”

Jose Quintana lasted just 4 ¹/₃ innings in which he allowed two earned runs on five hits with two walks and nine strikeouts.

The left-hander ran his scoreless streak to 25 ²/₃ innings before the Brewers scored twice in the fourth inning.

“Everyone in this room knows that nothing is going to be easy,” Quintana said. “We have to win a ball game.”

Alonso reached second place due to a throwing error by Willy Adames at the start of the second round, but Tobias Myers was eliminated in succession by Starling Marte, Luis Torrens and Harrison Bader.

The Mets didn't get another base runner until Marte's leadoff double in the fifth. It was the Mets' last hit of the night.

The Brewers are a No. 3 seed for the postseason, but have shown no signs of slowing down through the first two games of this series.

The Mets went 0-5 this season against the Brewers, a potential opponent if they reach the postseason.

“The Brewers are the best bullpen in the Netherlands and it was basically a bullpen game today,” Brandon Nimmo said. “It's difficult. If you want to make the playoffs, it's a difficult task and you have to beat the best… They're a good team. There's a reason they won the NL Central.”

Quintana's scoreless streak was ended by a two-run single by Joey Ortiz in the fourth that gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead.

Quintana walked Rhys Hoskins and Isaac Collins to load the bases before Ortiz delivered a full-count curveball.

Marte reached third base with one out in the fifth after opening the inning with a double, but Harrison Bader and Luisangel Acuña were retired with no run scoring.

Acuña returned to the starting lineup after a day's absence, with Francisco Lindor assigned as DH.

Lindor finished 0-3 in his second game back after missing eight straight games due to lower back pain.

Jackson Chourio hit a leadoff double in the fifth and advanced to third on Garrett Mitchell's sacrifice bunt, ending Quintana's night.

Phil Maton came into the game and retired William Contreras without the run scoring before striking out Adames.

Adames delivered an RBI single to Reed Garrett in the eighth after Garrett Mitchell hit a single to start the inning and stole second.

Garrett went to Contreras before Adames delivered.

Garrett walked Ortiz with the bases loaded, increasing the Mets' deficit to 4-0.

Andruw Monasterio scored two additional runs with a single off Danny Young.