3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Go 3-10 Against Braves This Season

It was a familiar story in Atlanta as the New York Mets lost two of three to the juggernaut Braves. The Mets will finish the 2023 going 3-10 against the Braves. Certainly not ideal.

Having hit somewhat of a hot streak, the Mets were looking to win their first series in Atlanta since July of 2022. They got off to a promising start by taking the opening game.

However, an inconsistent offense and yet more bad starting pitching ultimately condemned the Amazins’ in the final two games of the series. The Mets are now 59-69 on the year and just one win above the Nationals for last place in the National League East.

Oh, and if you needed any reminding, the three dead certs in life are death, taxes and the Braves absolutely owning the Mets at every single turn.

3 Up

Avoiding Humiliation 

Give credit to this current incarnation of the Mets because they’ve at least shown some fight as of late. Since giving up 40 runs to the Braves earlier in the month, the Mets went 5-2 heading into this series in Atlanta. They made it five wins out of six by winning the series opener, and although their old enemy ultimately outdid them, they were not totally humiliated like the last time they faced the Braves. Again, the rest of the year is all about small victories for this team, and they proved once more in this series that they aren’t going to mail it in completely.

Taking His Chance

If we know anything, it is that there are roster spots up for grabs for the 2024 season, and one player, in particular, is really showing that he deserves a shot to be on the Opening Day roster next year. That man is, of course, DJ Stewart, who is arguably playing the best baseball of his life right now. The veteran, who grew up rooting for the Braves and who attended the same high school as one of his heroes in Chipper Jones, balled out against Atlanta. Stewart hit a homer and drove in another run during the Mets’ 10-4 win in the series opener. He went a combined 5-for-11 in the series overall and really acted as a spark for a struggling offense. Stewart has a slash line of .306/.342/.778/.1.120 over the past 14 days, hitting five homers and driving in 10 RBIs. If he can maintain anywhere close to that down the stretch, we may see more of Stewart in a Mets uniform in 2024.

Back With A Bang

You wouldn’t have thought Sean Reid-Foley hadn’t pitched since April 30 of last season, given how dominant he was on Wednesday night. Making his season debut after undergoing Tommy John Surgery last year, the righty looked unbeatable after entering the game in the eighth inning. He retired all three batters he faced, striking out one and reaching 97 MPH on his fastball. Reid-Foley’s successful return was a feel-good story, and it also offers hope that he could be a potent weapon for what will be a new-look bullpen in 2024.

3 Down

Back To Reality 

It seemed that winning seven of nine gave some Mets fans hope that maybe, just maybe, the 2023 season wasn’t lost after all. While that was always dreaming to the extreme, this series at least reminded everyone who these Mets really are. While they may put mini streaks together and provide some brief moments of joy, they are just far too inconsistent to do anything else. The offense has been better, but the bats were only able to produce two runs and eight hits in the final two games of the series. And both the starting pitching (more on that below) and the bullpen can’t be relied upon on a night-to-night basis. As likable as this current mish-mash of a lineup may be, the Mets have a long, long way to go before they can even dream of being considered in the same upper echelons as juggernauts like the Braves.

Rotation Mess

As we’ve touched on in this space many times before, Kodai Senga and José Quintana are the only locks to be in the starting rotation for the Mets in 2024. And this series highlighted just how big a job the front office has in front of them when it comes to rebuilding this rotation. Tylor Megill threw four wild pitches, allowed three earned runs, and two walks while lasting less than five innings in his start on Tuesday. David Peterson allowed four runs on seven hits on Monday, and even Quintana, who has been near perfect in a Mets uniform, struggled in his start on Wednesday as he allowed five earned runs on nine hits while seemingly running out of gas. Sure, you can put Quintana’s outing down to just a bad day – but Peterson and Megill still have a slew of question marks to answer regarding their viability to be a part of this rotation in 2024.

Teams without even average starting pitching are doomed to flirt with mediocrity, and that will be the Mets’ path next year unless they invest a significant amount in giving the starting rotation a much-needed facelift.

Boos Of Doom

Pete Alonso shares a somewhat frosty relationship with the Braves fans, shall we say. There’s certainly no love lost between the two parties, that’s for sure. Every time the Atlanta faithful are presented with an opportunity to pick Alonso apart, they take it gleefully. That was the case on Wednesday, where history may be in the process of repeating itself. Alonso was absolutely drilled by a pitch in the fourth inning, delighting the home crowd who responded with a deafening sea of cheers. If the pain of an 89 mph pitch crashing into his body wasn’t already enough to deal with for Alonso. To make matters worse, the last time Alonso got hit by a pitch and was subjected to cheers by the Braves fans this year, he missed 10 days and was mired in a month-long slump afterwards. Let’s hope that isn’t the case this time around.