The Mets hosted the Braves for the first of a four-game set on Friday night. It is the first series between the two teams since the Mets were swept in nightmarish fashion in Atlanta at the beginning of June. In a matchup between Tylor Megill and Charlie Morton, the Braves overmatched the Mets en route to a 7-0 victory.

Prior to the game, Francisco Lindor was a late scratch from the lineup due to right-side soreness, making this the first game he didn’t play in all year. The Mets announced during the game that Lindor will undergo imaging tomorrow to hopefully diagnose the issue.

Without one of their best hitters in the lineup, the Mets couldn’t find the big hit against Morton who struggled with command all game. He allowed nine baserunners over the first four innings by issuing a career-high seven walks and allowing two hits, but he was able to keep them all from scoring as the Mets failed to pull ahead early.

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Following a 1-2-3 fifth, Morton exited the game after allowing a leadoff single in the sixth. His night ended with a zero in the score column despite throwing more balls than strikes and allowing ten baserunners over five-plus innings.

For the Mets, Megill had everything working for him early, even with some hard exit velocities given up. Through three innings, he allowed just one hit with his fastball topping out at 99 miles-per-hour. Megill’s luck ran out soon after, though. You can only silence the Braves’ lineup for so long.

An Austin Riley double was followed by a Matt Olson broken-bat single and a Marcell Ozuna dribbler that stayed fair to load the bases in the fourth inning. Eddie Rosario took advantage by dropping a ball into center field which cleared the bases after Brandon Nimmo couldn’t field the ball cleanly, putting the Braves ahead 3-0.

The Braves tacked on in the fifth with a pair of runs before adding another run in the sixth to put them firmly ahead, 6-0. This offensive onslaught chased Megill out of the game with one out in the sixth inning. Over his start, he allowed five earned runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out three batters. His ERA on the season rose slightly from 5.45 to 5.64.

Jimmy Yacabonis served as the mop-up man for the Mets, finishing out the game by throwing 3 2/3 innings of one-run ball. His lone blemish was a solo homer off the bat of Austin Riley in the seventh inning. With a seven-run deficit late in the game, the Mets pulled Nimmo from the game for DJ Stewart, moving Jeff McNeil to center field for the first time in his career.

The Mets couldn’t muster up any comeback, dropping the game 7-0 to fall to 52-63 on the year. They fall to 1-6 on the year against the Braves, with six games still to go against the National League leaders.

Stat of the Game

Per OptaSTATS, the Mets are the only MLB team in the modern era to record at least seven hits and nine walks in a nine-inning game and not score a single run. The Mets were 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position tonight and bailed out Charlie Morton in what should have been a far worse outing.

On Deck

The series with the Braves will continue on Saturday with a doubleheader. Denyi Reyes (0-1, 6.14 ERA) has joined the Mets and will get the start in the first game, while José Quintana (0-3, 3.42) will start the nightcap. Spencer Strider (12-4, 3.94 ERA) and Allan Winans (0-0, 4.15 ERA) will both start for the Braves, though which games they’ll pitch in is yet to be determined.

The first game will begin at 1:10 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on SNY. The second game will start at 7:15 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on FOX.