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Both runs came in the fourth inning on a single by Joey Ortiz that gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead, and that was ultimately enough to allow the southpaw to pick up the loss with the Mets dominated by the Milwaukee bullpen. While there was some traffic, Quintana did pitch well in this one with the nine strikeouts, raising his season total to 135 with an ERA of 3.75. Quintana will likely be a starter for the Mets in the postseason, but New York is not a lock to get in at this point.

Sale’s aching back is supposed to be improving, but he’s yet to try throwing. He’ll let the team know when he’s ready.

The Braves’ plan is to start López in Game 3 against the Padres. López did pitch in relief Monday, throwing one inning in the clincher in the second game against the Mets.

There’s never been anything to suggest Verlander would walk away, but some quick confirmation is nice. Verlander, who will turn 42 in February, was limited to 17 starts this year and went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA. It’s just the third time in his 17 relatively full seasons that he’s been below average. He just finished up a two-year, $86,666,666 deal he signed with the Mets before being traded back to Houston.

The Tigers used seven pitches to win, with none of them recording more than five outs. They took a 1-0 lead on a Parker Meadows homer in the sixth, fell behind 2-1 due to shaky defense in the seventh and then rallied off Ryan Pressly in the eighth, tying the game on a wild pitch before Ibáñez, pinch-hitting against Josh Hader, broke it open. The hit accounted for Ibáñez’s first runs batted in since Sept. 10. The utilityman finished the season in a slump, hitting just .167/.259/.188 after Aug. 26.

The box score might suggest that Jobe melted down in his first postseason appearance after just two regular-season outings as a major leaguer. It wasn’t like that, though. Jobe’s first pitch hit Victor Caratini, but that was really his only mistake. That was followed by a soft single, an attempted sac bunt that went for a single, a grounder to first on which Spencer Torkelson bounced the throw home (resulting in no outs) and a 197-foot popup that turned into a sac fly. Jobe was pulled at that point, and Sean Guenther produced a double-play ball to end the inning. The Tigers will feel pretty good about using Jobe again in the ALDS.

Brown allowed just one hit before Parker Meadows homered in the sixth for the first run either team scored today. Brown got two more outs afterwards and then was lifted following his 99th pitch. It was a terrific effort in his first career postseason start. The 26-year-old made seven relief appearances between the 2022 and ’23 postseasons, amassing a 1.69 ERA in 10 2/3 innings.

The Astros’ big three in the pen was supposed to be their greatest strength, but it never really worked out this way this year, even if no one was exactly bad from the group of Bryan Abreu, Pressly and Hader. Pressly was charged with three of the four runs today and took his first ever postseason blown save after earning 14 saves and four holds in 46 appearances previously. Hader gave up the big blow, which was a three-run double off the bat of Andy Ibáñez, and was charged with one run. He then pitched a scoreless ninth.

We wondered if the Braves might stick with d’Arnaud here, but they’re keeping with the regular-season scheme. Aside from d’Arnaud’s stint on the paternity list last month, he and Murphy have strictly alternated games. The last time either started two in a row was Aug. 31-Sept. 1, when d’Arnaud played back-to-backs. The Game 2 lineup: CF Michael Harris II, 2B Ozzie Albies, DH Marcell Ozuna, 1B Matt Olsen, RF Jorge Soler, LF Ramón Laurearno, 3B Gio Urshela, C Murphy, SS Orlando Arcia.

The one real lineup decision the Padres have to make comes against righties, when they choose between Donovan Solano and David Peralta for one spot. They opted for Solano against the righty in Game 1, and there was no doubt Solano would be in there versus the lefty today. The lineup: DH Luis Arraez, RF Fernando Tatis Jr., LF Jurickson Profar, 3B Manny Machado, CF Jackson Merrill, SS Xander Bogaerts, 1B Solano, 2B Jake Cronenworth, C Kyle Higashioka.

It was just a precaution, manager Rob Thomson said, and he’s expected to be good to go on Saturday. The sim game ended up being a 5-5 tie, with Nick Castellanos and Bryce Harper homering off Tanner Banks.