Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Doubleheaders have been kind to the New York Mets (68-39) all year, and that trend continued in the first game on Saturday afternoon, an 8-5 victory over the Atlanta Braves (64-44). Francisco Lindor had a monster day at the plate, David Peterson filled into the starting rotation with a great effort on the mound, and the Mets have taken two of the first three games in this pivotal series against the Braves.

David Peterson was called upon for the spot start with the Mets in the midst of a stretch of 14 games in 13 days, and he ran into trouble immediately. The Braves loaded the bases against him in the first inning, but he induced a line out to escape the frame unscathed.

The Mets offense found themselves in a similar position to score in the bottom of the first against Jake Odorizzi, making his first start for the Braves. They were able to capitalize, as Pete Alonso and Daniel Vogelbach notched consecutive RBI singles to give the Mets an early 2-0 lead. Alonso is up to 92 RBI on the season, which leads the National League and is good for second in all of baseball, while Vogelbach has now driven in six runs in 12 games with the Mets.

Peterson settled down after a scary first inning, limiting hard contact and working around frequent baserunners caused by three walks and a hit by pitch. His best inning came in the third, when he retired the heart of the Braves lineup on just six pitches.

Meanwhile, the offense continued to keep Odorizzi off balance, striking for another run in the bottom of the third on an RBI single from Jeff McNeil to make it a 3-0 game. The Mets had at least two batters reach base in each of the first three innings, and they chased Odorizzi out of the game before he could complete five frames on the mound.

It ended up being a very solid outing for Peterson, who pitched 5 1/3 innings scoreless innings allowing just three hits and striking out five. His season ERA is down to 3.30, and his sinker touched 99 mph at one point, by far the hardest pitch he has thrown this year.

The hits kept on coming for the Mets against the Braves bullpen, as Francisco Lindor crushed a two-run double to the deepest part of the field to put the team up 5-0. Lindor and Alonso have feasted on NL East pitching all year, as the two batters have driven in the most runs in divisional games

The Braves finally got something going in the seventh inning against Seth Lugo. Ronald Acuña Jr. continued an impressive series with an RBI single to put the Braves on the board. Matt Olson got an RBI single of his own off Adam Ottavino to make it a 5-2 game, but Ottavino got out of the inning without any further damage.

The Mets got those runs right back in the bottom of the seventh, starting with an RBI single from James McCann, his first hit since returning from the injured list. Starling Marte came through with an RBI single two batters later, and Lindor drove in his third run of the game with a sacrifice fly right after that. When all was said and done, the Mets had a commanding 8-2 lead entering the eighth inning.

Ottavino stayed in the game and fought his way out of trouble in the eighth inning. Yoan López gave up three runs in the ninth inning, forcing the Mets to bring in Edwin Díaz to close out the 8-5 win for his 25th save. The Mets have pushed their division lead up to 4.5 games over the Braves, and they will secure a series victory with a win in either of their two remaining matchups this weekend.

Player of the Game: Francisco Lindor

Lindor has been on a tear since the beginning of July, and Saturday afternoon’s game was a prime example of just how impactful he can be on his day. He had three hits, drove in three runs, and set the pace for the offense in a massive win. Lindor’s 77 RBIs are tied for fifth in all of baseball, and he is just four RBIs away from tying the club record for runs driven in during a single season by a shortstop.

Final line for Lindor: 3-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, SO

On Deck

The Mets will play the second game of their day-night doubleheader against the Braves on Saturday night at Citi Field. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on PIX11. The Mets will have Max Scherzer on the mound, while the Braves will counter with Max Fried.