(Photo credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images)

The New York Mets have returned home from a disastrous trip to Pittsburgh over the weekend. However, waiting for them on Tuesday will be a Milwaukee Brewers team that is one game back in the National League wild-card standings.

The Mets have lost 13 of their last 16, but the last three may be the most alarming. In being swept by the Pirates, manager Carlos Mendoza's squad gave up 30 runs while scoring just four. The sweep also cost the Mets the lead in the NL East.

The mounting losses prompted Mets owner Steven Cohen to post a 'Keep the faith!' tweet on Monday morning.

'I didn't see this coming,' Cohen wrote. 'I'm as frustrated as everybody else. We will get through this period. Our injured pitching will come back over the next few weeks. It is unlikely the team's hitting with RISP (runners in scoring position) will continue at this weak pace.'

Through Sunday, the Mets' .217 average with runners in scoring position is the worst in the National League.

Sunday's 12-1 loss to the Pirates came one day after Mets players held a closed-door session to talk about the abysmal play of late.

'We are all frustrated,' Mendoza said after Sunday's loss. 'Obviously, we're not going to lie, we're better than that, and they know that. It's a tough stretch, but we got to be better.'

Tuesday's series opener will feature a pair of starters who are among the six pitchers tied for the league lead with eight wins apiece.

Clay Holmes (8-4) is in his first full season as a starter with the Mets, and his 2.97 ERA ranks 10th in the league.

Tuesday marks his 18th game against the Brewers, but only one of his previous appearances was a start. He's 1-3 with a 6.64 ERA against Milwaukee, and control has been an issue. In 20 1/3 innings, Holmes has given up 19 hits, walked 22 and struck out 23.

Holmes has been struggling to find the strike zone. He earned the win Wednesday over Atlanta by allowing just one run and three hits across five innings. However, he also walked four. In his prior start, also against Atlanta, he walked six batters in 4 2/3 innings.

Freddy Peralta (8-4) is also enjoying a fine start to the season, and his 2.90 ERA ranks just ahead of Holmes on the leaderboard. The Milwaukee veteran has fared well against the Mets, posting a 3-0 record in three starts and a 2.60 ERA over 17 1/3 innings.

The Brewers were an out away Sunday from taking a five-game winning streak into the Big Apple, but the Colorado Rockies rallied for a 4-3 win in 11 innings and salvaged the last game of the weekend series.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters there's a lesson for his team to learn from letting a win slip away.

'Things have been going our way a bunch,' he said. 'We haven't had to have games like this in a while. It's a good reminder that you can lose these games. You got to play every pitch.'

Even with Sunday's loss, Milwaukee has won eight of its last 10. The offense has helped with the Brewers scoring a league-high 7.8 runs per game in that stretch.

Brice Turang and Christian Yelich have the majors' second and third-longest active hitting streaks, at 13 and 12 games, respectively. Both are hitting better than .410 during their streaks, and Yelich has driven in 18 runs and slugged .706 during his run.

--Field Level Media