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It looked like the New York Mets (30-33) were finally going to get the big win they were looking for to turn their season around. At the end of the top of the sixth inning on Thursday night, they led the Atlanta Braves (38-24) 10-6. However, like the first two games of this series, the team was unable to hold the lead as Atlanta rallied to win it, 13-10, in 10 innings.

It is also the first time in franchise history they lost three straight games where they led by at least three runs in each game. Plus, it snaps a streak in which the team had won 122 consecutive games in which they held a lead after eight innings.

With the score tied at 10 in the bottom of the 10th, Ozzie Albies ended up winning the game with a walk-off, three-run home run off Tommy Hunter (0-1, 6.65 ERA), which ended up being the fifth home run the Braves hit in the game against seven different Mets pitchers due to a short outing by Justin Verlander. Despite the loss, Showalter kept a positive outlook on the team’s performance.

“We scored 10 runs tonight against one of the best pitchers in the league. I’m really proud of them. There was a lot of opportunities there to fold the tent. These guys aren’t going to do that. Pete being down, I’m proud of them. I look at it as a positive other than we just couldn’t get outs. Used every arrow we have,” Buck said.

Due to using a lot of the bullpen the last two days, manager Buck Showalter had to go to David Robertson for an attempt at a five-out save. Robertson was able to get the final two outs in the eighth and the first out in the ninth, but an Orlando Arcia solo blast to left ended up tying the game at 10 and gave the right-hander his second blown save of the year.

Even with Pete Alonso out of the lineup, the Mets found a way to score 10 runs and record 14 hits. On a night where eight of the nine starters recorded at least one hit, Francisco Álvarez stole the show in this one. In the top of the fourth, he hit a ball to right-center off Spencer Strider that at the time looked like it would be a routine flyout, but his raw power helped the ball carry over the wall to give New York an 8-5 lead at the time.

Two innings later, the Mets designated hitter kept the power going against Michael Tonkin when he hit a solo shot to center that went 106.1 MPH off the bat and traveled 416 feet. His 11th of the year gave New York a 10-6 lead. The 21-year-old had the second multi-home run game of his career on a night where he hit second in the order.

Things did not start great for the Mets as the Braves took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Ronald Acuña Jr. led off the inning with a double against Verlander and eventually scored on a two-run home run by Austin Riley. Atlanta would later get the third run on an Eddie Rosario single thanks to a fielding error by Starling Marte that allowed Travis d’Arnaud to score.

The Mets offense came to life in the second. Francisco Lindor and Brett Baty led off the inning with singles. Then, Marte would make up for his error with an RBI single up the middle.

Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Brandon Nimmo was aggressive at the plate and crushed a first pitch fastball over the wall in right for a grand slam to give the Mets a 5-3 lead.

One inning later, Baty would help the Mets extend the lead to 6-3 on an RBI single to left that drove in Jeff McNeil. However, Atlants would cut the lead to one in the bottom half thanks to an RBI single by Arcia and a bases-loaded walk by Acuña.

While Verlander would avoid any further trouble, he would end up having his shortest outing of the year. He went three innings, allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits, walked four, and struck out three on 82 pitches (45 strikes).

Nevertheless, the Mets offense would keep up the damage against Strider thanks to Álvarez’s fourth-inning home run. Strider had his worst outing of the year as he went four innings, allowed eight runs on eight hits, walked two, and struck out eight on 87 pitches (63 strikes).

In the fifth, the Mets added a key insurance run against Tonkin on an RBI double by Tommy Pham. While Marte was initially ruled out at the plate, the Mets challenged the call and won which gave Pham his fourth RBI in the last two games.

The Mets bullpen deserves some credit for not allowing the Braves offense to complete their comeback. Stephen Nogosek came in to pitch after Verlander and ran into some trouble in the fourth when he allowed back-to-back singles to Riley and d’Arnaud. However, neither batter would score thanks to an inning-ending double play by Albies.

One inning later, Jeff Brigham was called in after Atlanta had cut the lead to 9-6 on a Marcell Ozuna home run and had a runner on second. But, Brigham was able to get Acuna to pop out and Matt Olson to fly out and he escaped trouble.

Brigham would end up allowing one run due to a Rosario single against Brooks Raley in the sixth that cut the Mets lead to 10-7. However, in his second consecutive appearance, Raley was able to limit the damage to just one run.

The double play would end up being the Mets friend again. Drew Smith came in for Raley in the seventh and got Acuna to ground into an inning-ending double play on his only pitch of the inning. In the following inning, Smith did not have the same success as he allowed a Riley single (4th hit of the night) and a D’Arnaud two-run home run on a slider down the middle that cut the lead to 10-9.

Player Of The Game

Álvarez is the obvious choice for tonight’s player of the game despite the loss. He rose to the occasion the same way he rose up in the batting order from ninth to second. He went 2-for-5 with the aforementioned two home runs and a walk that he had in the eighth. Most of the damage that the 21-year-old has done this year has been away from Citi Field as 9 of his 11 home runs have come on the road.

Stat Of The Game

Before Thursday night’s game, Strider had yet to allow more than four earned runs in any start for the Braves this year. Even though he struck out eight or more batters for the 11th time this year, the Mets have been the one team Strider can’t seem to figure out dating back to last season.

On Deck

The Mets will look to avoid a seventh straight loss on Friday night when they begin a three-game series at PNC Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates (32-29). You can watch the game on SNY and listen on WCBS 880 at 7:05 p,m ET. Former Met Rich Hill (5-5, 4.41 ERA) gets the start for Pittsburgh against Tylor Megill (5-3, 4.40) for the Mets.