Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets matched up against the Atlanta Braves in a battle vying for the National League East lead on Tuesday evening. With a win on the previous night, the Mets got themselves back to a 2.5-game lead over the Braves. Mets hitters faced a tough challenge with Rookie of the Year candidate Spencer Strider taking the hill at Truist Park.

Making the task more difficult, the Mets’ lineup was missing a few key regulars. Starling Marte is day-to-day with a groin injury, James McCann was recently moved to the IL with an oblique issue, and Jeff McNeil is away from the team on paternity leave. The offense managed to score just one run in against Strider, proving to not be enough for the win. The Braves took game two of the series by the score of 4-1.

David Peterson turned in a quality start, giving up one hit through five innings. Peterson stepped up in a big way for the Mets even with a loss, proving he can get the job done in an important game. With some uncertainty in the Mets rotation, Peterson could potentially play a big role with this team down the stretch.

The 22-year-old Strider was dealing through the majority of his start, too. He struck out five Mets through his first three innings of work. Of those strikeouts, Pete Alonso went down swinging twice, while Francisco Lindor and Mark Canha picked up one each. Strider’s high-90s fastball, mixed in with his sharp-breaking curveball, had Mets hitters tied in a knot.

The first run of the contest was picked up after Lindor ripped a line drive for an RBI triple, bringing Nimmo home. Acuña Jr. misplayed Lindor’s hit when the ball got under his glove in right field, allowing the ball to roll to the wall. With two outs, Atlanta made the wise decision to intentionally walk Alonso with two bases open. The free pass ended Strider’s night after 4 2/3 innings, striking out eight and walking three. Tyler Matzek checked into the game to get the lefty-lefty matchup versus Luis Guillorme, who flied out to left field, ending the inning. The Mets led 1-0 at the halfway point.

Although a great performance by Peterson, he was not able to escape completely unscathed. He ran into trouble after walking Dansby Swanson (after a dicey ball call) in the bottom of the sixth inning with one out.

After a mound visit, Braves slugger Matt Olson stepped up to the plate and clobbered a fastball that was above the strike zone over the center-field wall. The two-run shot effectively ended Peterson’s night after a strong 5 1/3 innings. Seth Lugo sat down the next two batters via the strikeout to avoid any further damage.

Former Met Collin McHugh pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh. He trotted back out to the mound in the eighth inning, only allowing just one baserunner in two innings. Olson made a nice stop on a hard ground to end the inning despite Dominic Smith getting a good piece of it.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Adam Duvall homered on a fly ball to left, bringing Travis d’Arnaud into score. The two-run blast gave the Braves a three-run lead, one they maintained the rest of the game.

Player of the Game: David Peterson

Although he gave up the lead in the sixth inning to Olson and the Braves, he pitched well and kept the Mets in the game. The run support wasn’t there for him in this one. He struck out nine batters over 5 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs. Peterson now has 26 strikeouts in 15 innings since the beginning of July, spanning over his last three starts.

On Deck

The Mets will play one more at Truist Park in the rubber match of the series, game time set for 12:20 p.m.

Chris Bassitt (6-6, 3.94 ERA) will face Charlie Morton (5-3, 4.21 ERA). New York will look to again regain a 2.5-game lead over Atlanta for the division lead.