Pat Murphy said Friday afternoon that his Milwaukee Brewers were going to “play to win” against the New York Mets despite already being locked into their postseason spot.

One first-inning swing of the bat by Rhys Hoskins made it that much easier, as his grand slam off Sean Manaea paved the way to a mostly stress-free, 8-4 victory at American Family Field.

BOX SCORE: Brewers 8, Mets 4

The Brewers also got four decent innings from starter Frankie Montas, a three-hit game from Brice Turang and good work in for several of their relievers as they continue to prep for their Tuesday wild-card opener that will be against either the Mets, the Arizona Diamondbacks or the Atlanta Braves.

One negative from the game was outfielder Sal Frelick injuring his left hip trying to catch a foul ball in the third inning and having to be helped off the field. X-rays were negative, but he's scheduled for an MRI on Saturday.

Mets make things interesting

Hoby Milner allowed two one-out singles and then hit a batter to load the bases in the eighth. That brought up Harrison Bader, who sent a drive to deep left that Jackson Chourio made a tremendous leaping catch on as he neared the wall.

It prevented extra bases but the sacrifice fly allowed a run to score. A batter later, JD Martinez sent a bloop fly to shallow right that Turang gloved but dropped for an error, making it a 7-4 game.

Trevor Megill got the call at that point and needed only one pitch to retire New York. He then threw a scoreless ninth to register his 21st save of the season.

Gary Sánchez blasted a solo homer 425 feet to left with one out in the eighth to cap the scoring.

Milwaukee chases Mets starter Sean Manaea

The Brewers got a run back on three straight two-out hits in the bottom of the fourth – a single by Turang, a double by Garrett Mitchell and an infield single by Chourio – to make it 6-2.

That sequence also chased starter Sean Manaea.

Montas, meanwhile, exited after four innings having allowed two hits, the two runs and three walks with six strikeouts over 82 pitches.

The Brewers made it 7-2 in the sixth when Turang drew a two-out walk from Danny Young, stole second – his 50th of the season – then made it home on a passed ball and wild pitch.

Turang is the fifth player in franchise history to steal 50 or more bases in a season, and the first since Jonathan Villar swiped 62 in 2016.

Mets get on the board

A leadoff walk in the third came back to bite Montas when Mark Vientos slugged a two-out homer to center to make it 5-2.

The Brewers did suffer a blow in the third when Sal Frelick injured his left hip or buttock crashing into the wall down the right-field line trying to catch a foul ball off the bat of Francisco Alvarez.

Frelick had to be helped into the Milwaukee clubhouse and was replaced by Mitchell.

There were also some fireworks in the fourth as Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was ejected by home-plate umpire Ramon De Jesus following a questionable called third strike on Alvarez.

Brice Turang tacks on another run

Murphy said he started Turang in the leadoff spot so as to get him a few extra looks at left-handed pitching going into the postseason.

He delivered his second hit in as many at-bats with a bloop double to center in the second, a hit that scored Blake Perkins to make it 5-0. Perkins reached on an error, then stole second despite being picked off by Manaea.

What a start for the Brewers

Milwaukee got a leadoff single from Turang and then a pair of two-out walks from William Contreras and Willy Adames to bring Hoskins to the plate.

In a 2-2 count he belted a 386-foot homer to left to electrify the crowd and give the Brewers a quick 4-0 lead. It was the third grand slam of the season for Hoskins and 10th of the season for Milwaukee, tying a franchise record set in 1995.

The three grand slams also ties a franchise record for a single season, held by John Jaha (1995), Devon White (2001) and John Vander Wal (2003).

Arizona has hit 11 so far this season to lead the major leagues.

Brewers time, TV, radio

The Brewers game starts at 7:10 p.m. Friday.

TV: Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620 and a state network.

Brewers lineup

• Brice Turang 2B

• Sal Frelick RF

• Jackson Chourio LF

• William Contreras C

• Willy Adames SS

• Rhys Hoskins 1B

• Joey Ortiz 3B

• Gary Sánchez DH

• Blake Perkins CF

Mets lineup

• Francisco Lindor SS

• Mark Vientos 3B

• Brandon Nimmo LF

• Pete Alonso 1B

• José Iglesias 2B

• Jesse Winker RF

• JD Martinez DH

• Francisco Alvarez C

• Tyrone Taylor CF

Brewers schedule

Brewers vs. Mets, 6:15 p.m. Saturday. Milwaukee TBA vs. New York TBA. Broadcasts: TV – Fox. Radio – AM-620.

Brewers vs. Mets, 1:10 p.m. Sunday.Milwaukee TBA vs. New York TBA. Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers 8, Mets 4: Rhys Hoskins sets the tone with his third grand slam