Mets Take Series in Atlanta Behind Relentless Offense
The Mets' lineup caught fire in a crucial series against their hated rivals.
The New York Mets picked a fantastic time to get their bats going.
After a miserable 1-5 homestand to begin the season, scoring just 13 runs in series losses to the Milwaukee Brewers and Detroit Tigers, the team showed some improvement by taking two of three against the Cincinnati Reds on the road, scoring 12 runs in the three games. But even with that series win, the Mets needed to get their sluggish offense in gear quickly for their next set, which was one of the biggest of the entire season despite being so early on.
A four-game set against their most hated rivals, the Atlanta Braves, was on deck for the Mets this week. The Braves had won the NL East for six consecutive years, and had finished with the best record in baseball last season thanks to one of the most feared lineups in the game. With the Mets' starting rotation in disarray, they would need to outscore a batting order that featured superstars such as Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, and Matt Olson.
In Amazin' fashion, the Mets did just that. Despite having one game postponed to a rainout, the team pummeled Atlanta's pitching for 31 runs, which was more than their previous three series combined; this allowed the Mets to take two out of three, repair their record to 5-7, and create some much-needed momentum.
Although Francisco Lindor is still mired in a terrible slump to begin the year, the rest of the team came to life. Brandon Nimmo put the team on his back in the opener by going 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI, helping the Mets erase an early 4-0 deficit and win 8-7. Pete Alonso had multiple hits in each of the last two games. Starling Marte had a hit in each game, drove in a run in the first two and scored twice in the finale. Brett Baty collected five hits in the series. Even DJ Stewart broke out of his early slump and hit two home runs in the series.
The first two games saw the Mets play from behind, but they were able to steal the first game thanks to an outstanding game from Nimmo, while a late rally in the second game fell just short in a 6-5 loss. But with Wednesday's game rained out (rescheduled for September 26), New York now had an opportunity to take the now best-of-three set with a win on Thursday. They did so while leaving no doubts, as the offense exploded and kept their foot on the gas.
Taking advantage of poor Braves defense in the early going, the Mets quickly built up a 7-0 lead in the first three innings. The third inning broke the game open; after consecutive doubles by Francisco Alvarez and Jeff McNeil scored a run each, Stewart provided the exclamation point with a two-run blast into the Chop House in right field.
Atlanta rallied for three runs in the fifth inning, but the solid New York lead turned into a rout when they erupted for nine runs in the last three frames. In the seventh inning, the Mets loaded the bases with nobody out and drove in each runner with an RBI groundout from Alvarez and a two-run single by McNeil. Nimmo tacked on two more runs in the eighth by driving in Harrison Bader with a triple before scoring himself on a wild pitch.
The Braves' bullpen was so battered that they put in position player Luis Guillorme - a former Met - to pitch the ninth. He would give up a pinch-hit grand slam to Tyrone Taylor.
The end result was a 16-4 drubbing and a series win over the NL East favorites; considering that the Mets finished behind the Braves for the division title in both 2021 and 2022, every win against them is especially important towards the goal of making the playoffs. New York will play 10 more games against Atlanta this season, but seven of them will be at Citi Field, which gives the Mets an early advantage in the season series.
This weekend, the Mets will host the white-hot Kansas City Royals for three games as part of a six-game homestand. First pitch will be at 7:10 PM Eastern on Friday.
