The Mets (53-67) brought down the National League East rival Braves (71-48) by a score of 8-5 on Monday evening at Truist Park. With the win, the Mets are 7-4 against the Braves this year and have won the season series.
The triumph was backed by a great offensive showing, as Brett Baty hit his first career grand slam in the first inning, and Francisco Lindor went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, and two runs scored. The Mets have now won six of their last seven games.
Photo Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Christian Scott got the start for New York, tossing four innings and allowing four runs on seven hits, with one walk and six strikeouts. He didn’t factor into the decision.
New York got on the board immediately in the top of the first. A.J. Ewing led off with a ground-rule double and scored on a Bo Bichette single, and two batters later, with the bases loaded, Brett Baty crushed his first career grand slam to make it 5-0 before Atlanta had even come to the plate. The Braves answered in the bottom half, scoring two runs off Scott via a Drake Baldwin double, Matt Olson single, a HBP, then a Mauricio Dubón two-run single.
But the Mets continued to score, tacking on two more insurance runs to make it 7-2 with a Jared Young RBI single scoring Lindor (who had doubled) in the second, and a Lindor solo homer—his 11th of the season—in the third.
Atlanta tried to compete, scoring two more runs off Scott in the fourth on a pair of RBI singles, and one off New York’s Jonathan Pintaro in the fifth on a wild pitch, but couldn’t recover against New York’s bullpen. New York added an insurance run in the ninth on a Jared Young sacrifice fly that scored Lindor, making it 8-5.
Duarte (1-0, 1.04 ERA) got the win with a scoreless seventh.
Kodai Senga came in for his first save opportunity and got it, closing out the ninth. Expect to see him in more of these situations down the stretch
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Brett Baty earns Monday’s honor with his first career grand slam.
ON DECK
Nolan McLean (8-7, 3.51 ERA) will get the start for New York on Tuesday. In his last outing vs. the Guardians, the starter allowed five runs on eight hits over three and five innings pitched, walking three and striking out eight.
Martín Pérez (7-6, 3.14 ERA) will take the mound for the Braves. In his last time out against the Marlins, he tossed three shoutout innings, allowing just one walk and striking out three.
The first pitch is set for 7:15 PM EST on SNY.
