Mets takeaways from Wednesday's 7-5 loss to Braves, including second straight late-game collapse
The Mets squandered another lead to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, losing 7-5.
Here are the takeaways...
- It was good news, bad news for the Mets in the top of the first inning. The good news was they scored a run – something they’ve rarely done in the first this season.
The bad news was Pete Alonso was forced to leave the game after getting hit in the hand with a 97 mph fastball from Charlie Morton. What was feared to be something serious turned out to be a left-wrist contusion after Alonso’s X-rays came back negative and the first baseman is considered day-to-day, the team announced.
- Looking to put an end to New York’s four-game losing streak, Max Scherzer looked sharp early on, striking out three in the opening inning, surrounded by an infield single. Scherzer struck out five batters the first time through the lineup and had seven strikeouts over three scoreless innings while giving up just two infield hits.
- But it was in the fourth inning where things took a bit of a turn for the 38-year-old. Austin Riley led off the inning with the Braves’ first hard-hit ball of the night, singling up the middle. After Scherzer got the next two hitters out it looked like he would get out of the inning unscathed, but it was death by 1000 papercuts as three straight infield singles got Atlanta on the board. Scherzer struck out Michael Harris II to end the inning and escape further damage.
- In the top of the fifth inning, the Mets got that run back and more thanks to Tommy Pham’s two-run shot. Pham entered the game as a pinch-runner in the first after Alonso had to exit and stayed in to play left field, moving Mark Canha over to first base.
- Now staked to a 4-1 lead, Scherzer got the first two outs in the next half-inning but couldn’t finish off the inning, giving up another well-struck single to Riley before Sean Murphy took him deep for a two-run home run that made it a one-run game once again.
It was the same story in the sixth inning for Scherzer who retired the first two hitters in the inning before giving up back-to-back doubles to the No. 8 and 9 hitters in Orlando Arcia and Harris II that tied the game. Ronald Acuna Jr.’s RBI single gave the Braves the lead and bounced Scherzer from the game and just like Tuesday night, Atlanta rallied back from a 4-1 deficit to re-take the lead.
Scherzer went 5.2 innings and allowed five earned runs on 11 hits despite striking out 10.
- The Mets loaded the bases with one out in the top of the seventh inning against Kirby Yates, which brought up Pham hitting in the cleanup spot. With a full count, Pham struck a fastball to the right-field wall that Acuna Jr. made a leaping catch on. The sacrifice fly brought in the game-tying run, but the catch saved at least another run and possibly two. New York would not score another run.
- The Braves would win the game in the eighth inning thanks to a two-run home run by Harris II off Adam Ottavino who came in with a runner on second base and one out. Pitching on back-to-back days, Ottavino left a 1-1 cutter in the middle of the zone and Harris II crushed it to center field.
- The Mets have lost five straight games for the first time since September 2021, have fallen to 30-32 and are now 7.5 games back of Atlanta in the division.
- Francisco Alvarez hit his ninth home run of the season in the second inning.
Highlights
What's next
The Mets will look to avoid the series sweep on Thursday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. on SNY.
RHP Justin Verlander (2-3, 4.25 ERA) will go up against RHP Spencer Strider (6-2, 2.97 ERA) in the series finale.
