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The Atlanta Braves (98-59) defeated the New York Mets (98-59) by the score of 5-2 to open the series on Friday. It was a premier pitching match-up between Jacob deGrom and Max Fried and both starters were as advertised. Francisco Álvarez also made his debut for the Mets on Friday. The rookie went 0-for-4 in his MLB debut and left six men on base.

The Mets put the pressure on the Braves when they scored early against Fried in the bottom of the second inning. With Jeff McNeil on third base, Luis Guillorme hit an opposite-field single that was misplayed by Eddie Rosario to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

It wouldn’t take long, however, for the Braves to erase their newly found deficit. On the second pitch thrown by deGrom in the bottom of the second, Austin Riley unloaded on a center-cut slider to tie the game 1-1. Matt Olson, the next batter up for the Braves, hit a solo home run of his own to give Atlanta the lead 2-0. It was the first time since 2019 that deGrom has allowed back-to-back home runs and multiple home runs in the same inning.

Fried settled in after the second inning and shut down the Mets’ offense. He retired ten Mets in a row to maintain the Braves’ lead through the fifth inning. The Braves left-hander, however, had his night end prematurely after coming down with an unknown illness. Fried struck out three across five innings and only allowed one run.

DeGrom, who was matching Fried’s brilliance, found himself in a familiar situation at the bottom of the sixth. After striking out Ronald Acuña Jr. to begin the inning, Dansby Swanson ambushed a first-pitch fastball to increase the Braves lead to 3-1.

DeGrom’s night was over after the sixth inning. He struck out 11 batters across six innings and gave up three runs all on solo home runs. Buck Showalter said that deGrom was pulled after only 86 pitches because of a blood blister on his middle finger.

Tylor Megill, who was the first reliever called upon, was greeted rudely by Atlanta in the bottom of the seventh inning. Rosario brought home Olson on a sacrifice fly for the first run of the inning and increased the lead to 4-1. Orlando Arcia followed with a double to drive in Travis d’Arnaud to bring the lead to 5-1.

The Mets chipped away at the Braves’ lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. With nobody on, Tomás Nido drilled a home run to cut the lead to 5-2.

Down by three runs in the top of the ninth inning, the Mets did not go down quietly against Atlanta. Kenley Jansen loaded the bases behind a hit by pitch, single, and walk with one out. The Braves’ closer was able to calm himself in the end and struck out Álvarez and Tyler Naquin to end the game.

With the win over the Mets, the Atlanta Braves moved into a tie for first place in the National League East.

Player of the Game: Eduardo Escobar

Escobar continued his great month by going 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. The Mets third baseman has eight home runs and 24 RBIs in September and entered the night with an NL-leading 1.4 fWAR this month.

On Deck

Max Scherzer (11-4, 2.13 ERA) vs Kyle Wright (20-5, 3.18 ERA)

The Mets will send Scherzer to the mound for Saturday’s contest against the Braves. Scherzer has been an anchor in the Mets rotation in the month of September and has pitched to an ERA of 1.06 in three starts.

Atlanta will counter the Mets on Saturday with Kyle Wright. The Braves right-hander leads all of MLB with 20 wins on the season but has struggled in September. Wright holds a 5.66 ERA in the month and opposing batters have tagged him for a .756 OPS.

Saturday’s game will begin at 7: 20 p.m. Fans can catch the action on FOX and WCBS 880.