The Mets first two games in Atlanta couldn’t have gone much worse.

On Monday a 13-1 blowout that saw Darin Ruf as New York’s best pitcher. On Tuesday a 5-0 loss where Charlie Morton stifled the Mets lineup to three hits and 12 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.

Did I even mention both Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker got hurt?

Well after dropping the first half of a four game series the Mets are set to take the back half. Max Scherzer pitches tonight with Jacob deGrom to follow on Thursday.

Before we look into their numbers let’s take a look at the job Buck Showalter did to keep his bullpen intact despite only four innings from his starters the last two nights.

Showalter didn’t use Edwin Diaz, Adam Ottavino, or Trevor May.

It’s weird to praise a manager for throwing a game but that’s what Showalter did using arms like R.J. Alvarez and Stephen Nogosek last night. The Mets were in striking distance only down 3-0 in the seventh inning. But the offense couldn’t muster anything against the Braves pitching staff. That’s not the fault of the Triple-A talent they used to eat innings.

Now the Mets are setup to win a game where they don’t have to score very much.

Scherzer has been impeccable since his return in July. He hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any start and has gone at least six innings in all of them. The Mets are 5-3 during his starts in that stretch and 11-5 when he pitches this season.

Last week against Atlanta, Scherzer tossed seven innings, allowed no runs, four hits, and struck out 11. The Mets won 6-2.

DeGrom will be making his fourth start this season. He’s remained at a 76 pitch limit for consecutive starts but there’s little batters can do against him. In 16 2/3 innings he has a 1.62 ERA, 0.71 FIP, and has recorded over half of outs via the strikeout.

DeGrom was an out away from six perfect innings against Atlanta on August 7. A walk and a home run right after spoiled it. Still he went 5 2/3 innings, striking out 12. The Mets would win 5-2.

New York needs a jolt. There are no better pitchers in baseball if you have to win at least one game. The Mets will need contributions from David Peterson and Trevor Williams for sure for the rest of the season but the tone setting starts with these two.

It’s time to get two more win and regain their 5.5 game lead in the NL East.