Phil Maton has been one of the Mets’ most reliable relievers this season, but the right-hander was not in the team’s Game 2 loss to the Brewers on Wednesday night.

While the Mets held onto a slim 3-2 lead in the eighth, manager Carlos Mendoza had his bullpen set up perfectly to make it to the Wild Card series. He had Reed Garrett in the sixth, Ryne Stanek in the seventh and the plan was to use Maton for the eighth and Edwin Diaz to close it.

Of course, plans don’t always come to fruition as a twenty-year phenomenon Jackson Chourio brought Maton deep to start the eighth and tie the game at 3-3. It was Chourio’s second solo shot of the match.

“Young talented hitter who can always battle good fastballs,” Maton said of Chourio after the game. “Overall satisfied with my field choice. Execution is more in the box than I would have liked. Taking advantage of trying to get to the four-sieve after the sinker and just hit a good piece.

Maton continued to talk about how the execution of his pitches was more his problem Wednesday than pitch selection, even in the at-bat in which he allowed a two-run home run. Garrett Mitchell on a hanging curveball that put the Brewers ahead for good.

“Too much swing on the curveball, but we were happy with the first pitch curve to get ahead,” Maton explained of the Mitchell at-bat. “It’s just one of those things where he makes a good swing, nine times out of 10 I get a fly ball to center field for a free out. He took a good swing at it and you tip your hat.

Mendoza said he liked the Chourio matchup for Maton so much that when asked if he thought about having Stanek — who threw a perfect seventh — start the eighth, he said he didn’t like it.

The Mets skipper also said that while Diaz was available, they only wanted to get three outs from him. Understandable considering the workload the Mets closer had to endure on Monday in Atlanta.

But the same can be said of Maton. The 31-year-old has appeared in four of the Mets’ last five games, including Wednesday, so Maton may be dealing with fatigue. The Kentucky native brushed that off, saying, “Playoff baseball, the adrenaline is flowing. Everything feels good” and that he will be available for Thursday’s winner-take-all game.

In 31 appearances since being acquired from the Rays in July, Maton has been stellar. He pitched to a 2.51 ERA and a 0.837 WHIP. During that time in Vlissingen, he allowed only one home run.

“It’s extremely frustrating,” Maton said of his outing. “I would have preferred to give that up in the regular competition. I just looked over the iPad and looked at the fields, and overall quite happy with my selection of the fields. My performance, a little too much plate with some of them. It’s one of those situations where they just beat me today and it’s easier to rest on that. Ultimately, we have to deal with business and respond tomorrow.”

The Mets will look to avoid elimination and reach the NLDS when they take on the Brewers on Thursday night with Maton and the rest of the bullpen.