The Mets looked to win their first series in Atlanta since July of 2022 on Wednesday night when they took on the Braves in the rubber match of their three-game series. In a matchup of veteran starting pitchers, the Mets were overmatched by Charlie Morton, José Quintana ran out of gas in the sixth inning, and Marcell Ozuna homered for the third consecutive day as the Braves cruised to a 7-0 win.
The story of the game on Wednesday night was the dominant outing by the 39-year-old Morton. In his most recent outing against the Mets at Citi Field, Morton walked seven over just five innings. He was a completely different pitcher on Wednesday in Atlanta, going seven shutout innings allowing just two hits and walking one while striking out 11 Mets. He did a great job of mixing his pitches, using all of his pitches anywhere in the count, and had near pinpoint control.
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The Mets’ first hit of the game came in the fifth inning on a double by DJ Stewart. After Rafael Ortega was hit by a pitch, Danny Mendick had a chance to get the Mets even with two runners on and two outs. Their rally ended quickly, however, when Stewart tripped while taking his secondary lead, allowing Sean Murphy to throw behind him and pick the Mets’ right fielder off to end the inning.
Offensively, the Braves were lead by Ozuna for the third consecutive night. The Dominican right fielder went 3-for-4, driving in four runs on an RBI double and his fourth home run of the series . He finished the series going 8-for-11 with four home runs and two doubles.
Quintana allowed five runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings. He allowed three consecutive two-out hits to bring in the game’s first run, but managed to get through the next four innings allowing just two singles. The Braves broke the game open in the sixth inning with four hits from the first five batters of the inning to end Quintana’s night. Phil Bickford relieved the left-hander, but he allowed a two-run triple to Vaughn Grissom bring in the two inherited runners.
The Mets did not produce anything offensively as a team, but two Mets still had a solid day at the plate. Stewart hit two doubles to continue his hot hitting (.407/.429/1.037 in his last eight games,) and Francisco Lindor went 1-for-2 and reached base three times to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.
With the loss, the Mets fall to 59-69 on the season and wrap up their season-series with the Braves going just 3-10.
Stat of the Game: Sean Reid-Foley 1-2-3 Inning
Sean Reid-Foley pitched a perfect eighth inning in his first outing since April 30, 2022. The right-hander, who made his return from Tommy John surgery, retired all three batters he faced, including a strikeout, and topped out at 97 MPH on his fastball. Not much went well for the Mets on Wednesday night, but Reid-Foley’s strong return to the mound is a feel-good story on a night that did not include much to feel good about for Mets fans.
“It’s been a long trip back for him,” Buck Showalter said following the game. “He’s worked real hard to get back to this point, so I know it meant a lot to him tonight to get him and his family to see him out there.”
On Deck
After an off-day on Thursday, the Mets will return home to take on Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels at 7:10 p.m. ET on Friday night at Citi Field. Kodai Senga (10-6, 3.19 ERA) will make his 24th start of the season for the Mets as they begin a nine-game homestead against American League West opponents. The Angels currently do not have a starting pitcher listed.
Senga has been brilliant in his seven starts since the All-Star break, pitching to a 2.93 ERA over 40 innings. In his most recent start, he went seven innings allowing just one run on two hits in the Mets 13-2 win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
The game will be broadcasted on WPIX, and the radio call will be on WCBS 880.
