Mets find a blueprint to win without power

But with some inconsistent hitters, such as Jay Bruce and Michael Conforto, and others, like Yoenis Cespedes and Todd Frazier, on the disabled list, the Mets needed to find a way to reach that threshold — to alleviate the strain on their pitching staff despite thumping fewer home runs than usual.

On Thursday, the Mets (25-21) outlined a potential solution. And they did so against the Brewers (31-20), who entered the day with the lowest team ERA in the National League, largely because of their stellar bullpen.

The Mets collected 13 hits, none of them traveling over the fence. Brandon Nimmo, who has become the leadoff hitter and left fielder in Cespedes’ absence, had a career-high four hits and scored two runs. Behind him, Asdrubal Cabrera, the Mets’ steadiest hitter this season, smacked a key two-run double in the fifth inning against Brewers starter Zach Davies.

Wilmer Flores, who has been playing third base the most while Frazier recovers from a hamstring injury, provided the Mets’ fourth run of the day with a single that scored Cabrera in the fifth inning. And after four tight innings, Mets starter Steven Matz had that magical breathing room.

“You’ve got to create chaos on the field another way, rather than hitting the long ball,” said Nimmo, who leads the Mets with a .991 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. “We’ll get longballs as people become more comfortable. But for now, it’s more of just staying with a consistent approach and not giving any at-bat away.”

Earlier Thursday, Mets manager Mickey Callaway argued that the team’s pitching staff, specifically the bullpen, had performed solidly despite the little room for error.

“We’ve got to score more runs,” he said, adding later, “One of the things that takes its toll on pitchers more than anything — more than usage and more than innings pitched — is stressful innings.”

In all, Matz fired six innings and didn’t allow a run in a start for the first time since last July. He surrendered four hits and three walks, and hit a batter, yet wriggled out of jams.

It capped a superb turn through the Mets rotation in which they allowed only two earned runs over 31 innings. After various inconsistencies, each pitcher in the Mets’ rotation, the ballyhooed foundation of the team, finally delivered in unison.

Pitching, however, has generally not been the problem of late: Entering Thursday, the Mets’ offense was averaging only four runs per game, which ranked in the bottom third in baseball.

The absence of Cespedes, who is nursing a sore hip, and Frazier has hurt. Both took batting practice on Thursday afternoon at Miller Park, and Frazier ran for the first time since landing on the disabled list on May 8. The timetable for their returns was unclear.

But even when both were in the lineup, the Mets, a team built around power, were hitting fewer home runs than they had in the past three seasons.

The Mets’ offensive malaise has confounded their coaches, who met again before Thursday’s game following a series in which their club produced just four runs in three games against one of the worst teams in baseball, the Miami Marlins, and lost twice.

They have tinkered with the team’s batting practice routine, cutting down on swings and adding more game-specific drills. But it would be hard to refit their offensive profile — to steal more bases or hit and run often — without changing some personnel.

Callaway suggested, however, that the Mets be more patient at the plate like earlier in the season. The Mets drew four walks Thursday, moving them out of last place in baseball for walks this month.

“The bottom line,” Callaway said, “whether you’re pressing or the opposing team has changed the way they’ve pitched to us, we have to make the adjustment back and go out there and relax and score some runs.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.