MILWAUKEE (Interstat) — Zac Thornton pitched six innings of three-hit ball and the New York Mets parlayed 13 hits into a 4-0 shutout of the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night at American Family Field.

The Mets, who lost to the Brewers 8-3 the previous night, evened the two-game series and improved to 43-59. Milwaukee, which entered with the best record in the National League, dropped to 63-38. The crowd of 30,016 watched the Mets score single runs in the second and eighth innings and two in the fifth.

Thornton, a right-hander, allowed only three singles and struck out two without walking a batter. He threw 78 pitches, 54 for strikes, and lowered his earned-run average. Thornton earned his first win of the season against one loss, having taken a loss in his previous start against Boston on July 12 despite giving up no earned runs over seven innings.

The key sequence came in the top of the fifth inning with the Mets leading 1-0. After A.J. Ewing and Juan Soto flew out to begin the frame, Bo Bichette drew a walk off Brewers starter Brandon Sproat. Francisco Lindor followed with a double to center field, a ball deflected by second baseman Brice Turang, sending Bichette to third. Carson Benge then drove a 1-2 pitch to right field for a double, scoring both Bichette and Lindor to give the Mets a 3-0 lead.

That inning chased Sproat, who left after 4 2/3 innings. Sproat allowed four hits and two earned runs with four strikeouts and two walks. He fell to 3-5 on the season.

The Mets added their final run in the eighth when Luis Robert Jr. led off with a solo home run to left-center field off Brewers reliever Bryse Wilson. Robert’s third homer of the season made it 4-0.

Milwaukee’s offense managed only four hits off four Mets pitchers. Jackson Chourio singled in the first inning, Cooper Pratt singled in the sixth, Joey Ortiz singled in the sixth, and pinch-hitter Jake Bauers singled in the ninth. The Brewers advanced a runner to third base only once, in the ninth inning when Bauers reached on a groundout and moved to third on a groundout by Brice Turang, but William Contreras flied out to end the game.

Mets relievers Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley and Devin Williams each worked a scoreless inning. Weaver, Raley and Williams combined for one hit allowed over the final three innings, with Raley striking out one.

The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Jared Young hit a solo home run to right-center field off Sproat. It was Young’s seventh homer of the season. Young finished 2-for-4 with the home run and an RBI.

Lindor led the Mets with three hits in four at-bats, including the double. Benge drove in two runs with his double, going 2-for-5. Marcus Semien and Luis Torrens each had two hits for New York. The Mets outhit Milwaukee 13-4.

For the Brewers, Wilson pitched the final four innings, allowing seven hits and one earned run with two strikeouts. Milwaukee’s starting position players combined for two hits, with Chourio and Pratt each singling. The Brewers left five runners on base and did not draw a walk after the first inning.

The game lasted 2 hours, 51 minutes.

The Mets continue their series in Milwaukee on Wednesday before returning home to host the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game set starting Friday. The Brewers also remain home to host the Colorado Rockies on Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Milwaukee 6, New York 5, with an ELO system giving the Brewers a 68.80 percent probability to win. Milwaukee was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of four runs went over the over-under line of 8.5.