The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves opened their final regular season series of the season on Friday night at Truist Park. With the Mets eliminated from playoff contention, this series is about finishing the season strong for the players, coaches, and staff.
Tylor Megill (3-6, 4.52 ERA) made his final start of the season for the Mets against Huascar Ynoa (4-5, 4.05 ERA) for the Braves.
The Mets bats were alive on Friday night, collecting four runs on 11 hits, including two home runs by Brandon Nimmo. Pete Alonso also had three hits and an RBI for the Mets who went on to defeat the Braves 4-3 to open the series..
Megill pitched well into the third inning. He retired three of the four batters he faced, allowing his first walk of the night with one out. However no runs came across as Megill got the next two outs he needed to keep the score tied at 0-0 through three innings.
The fourth inning was where the Mets’ offense came alive. Ynoa walked Lindor to open the inning. Two batters later, Alonso collected his second hit of the night, a double to left field that scored Lindor and gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. Alonso advanced to third on a throwing error by Braves’ shortstop Orlando Arcia.
Two batters later, McCann hit an RBI single that scored Alonso to extend the Mets’ lead to 2-0. Kevin Pillar followed with a single and Jose Peraza walked to load the bases. The Mets could not score further, but took an early lead.
Nimmo led-off the top of the fifth with a lead-off solo home run to extend the Mets’ lead to 3-0. Ynoa retired the next three batters he faced, but not before the Mets extended their lead.
Megill was having one of his best outings of his season on Friday night and it continued into the fifth as he retired the Braves in order.
The Braves went to their bullpen in the sixth inning. Jacob Webb replaced Ynoa on the mound for the Braves.
The Mets tried to get more offense going in the sixth off of Webb. Smith and McCann hit back-to-back singles to put two runners on for the Mets with no outs. McCann later got caught stealing and Pillar and Peraza struck out to end the inning.
Megill’s night was over after five very strong and productive innings pitched, a much-needed comeback start for Megill. He was replaced on the mound by Jeurys Familia in the sixth.
Megill’s final line:
5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 66 SO
Familia’s night started out alright as he struck out the first two batters he faced. But a single to Ehire Adrianza, the former Minnesota Twin, followed by an RBI double by Ozzie Albies to center field got the Braves on the board and brought the score to 3-1. He then flew out Austin Riley to end the inning.
The Braves went back to their bullpen in the seventh. Spencer Strider replaced Webb on the mound for the Braves. This was Strider’s MLB debut.
McNeil led-off with a pop out in the seventh, but then came Nimmo with his second home run of the night, a solo home run to right field to extend the Mets lead over the Braves to 4-1. It was Nimmo’s eighth home run of the season. Lindor followed with a one-out single, but was left stranded as Javier Baez grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The score was 4-1 Mets over the Braves heading into the seventh inning.
The Mets went back to their bullpen in the seventh inning. Heath Hembree replaced Familia on the mound for the Mets.
Hembree’s outing started rocky. He gave up a lead-off solo home run to another former Minnesota Twin, Eddie Rosario to decrease the Mets’ lead to 4-2. That was Rosario’s fourteenth home run of the season.
But the Braves brought the game a little closer. It was 4-2 heading into the eighth inning.
The Braves went back to their bullpen in the eighth. Dylan Lee replaced Strider on the mound for the Braves..
Trevor May replaced Hembree on the mound the Mets in the bottom of the eighth inning. He was the fourth pitcher the Mets used on the night.
His second batter he faced was his former teammate Adrianza who homered off of May with one out to make it a one-run game with one out . It was 4-3 Mets going into the ninth.
Chris Martin replaced Lee on the mound in the ninth for the Braves. He retired the Mets in order to take the game to the bottom of the ninth with the Mets up by one.
Edwin Diaz came on to replace May to close it out and he did just that. Diaz retired the Braves in order to solidify the Mets’ 4-3 series-opening win over the Braves.
Megill (4-6) got the win for the Mets, Ynoa (4-6) got the loss for the Braves, and Diaz (32) was credited with the save.
Player of the Game:
Nimmo, who hit two home runs, including what ended up being the game-winner is the player of the game. It was the third time in his career he has had multiple home runs in the same game.
The Mets and Braves continue their final series of the season on Saturday night at 7:15PM EST. It will be Carlos Carrasco taking the ball for the Mets in his final outing of the season.
