The Mets could not find offensive footing despite three home runs in today’s 6- 3 loss to the Braves. Zac Thornton gave up three runs in six innings, and the bullpen gave up the other three in the seventh inning.
After Braves pitcher Tyler Mahle threw nine pitches, A.J. Ewing led off the first inning with a single into center field, but Francisco Lindor followed him by grounding into a force out that Ozzie Albies just barely threw to second base in time. Lindor stayed there to end the top of the inning,
and Thornton came out for the bottom. Drake Baldwin sneaked a grounder past Brett Baty at second base for a single, but otherwise Thornton had a clean first inning and the score stayed 0-0.
At the bottom of the second inning, Thornton allowed a home run to Lane Thomas and then a single to Austin Riley before getting out of the inning. Thornton then walked Ronald Acuña Jr to lead off the bottom of the third inning. When Drake Baldwin smacked a single into center field, Luis Robert Jr was lax getting the ball back to the infield as he didn’t seem to realize that Acuña would be running from second to third base. Robert’s last-minute throw to third was also not accurate. The lapse proved costly when Matt Olson grounded into a double play, but Acuña scored regardless. The score was now Braves 2, Mets 0.
Carson Benge tapped a ground ball into right field for a single at the top of the fourth inning, but was stranded there. At the top of the fifth inning, Jared Young lined a single into right field, but when he took a chance on reaching second base, he was thrown out by Acuña. At the bottom of the fifth, Baldwin whacked a line drive into left field for a lead-off double, and Sean Murphy followed him with his own line drive into left field for a single that allowed Riley to reach third base. Acuña then bashed another line drive, this one into center field, for an RBI single. Murphy reached third base, but Acuña tried to run to second base and was tagged out by Baty for the first out. The next two outs came in quick succession, but the Braves had extended their lead to 3-0.
Luis Torrens knocked a lead-off home run over the fence on the first pitch he saw to start the sixth inning, but the rest of the Mets batters were retired in order. Thornton then retired the Braves batters with seven pitches. At the top of the seventh, Robert lofted a home run into left field, and the Mets were within one run of the Braves. Unfortunately, that changed quickly. At the bottom of the seventh, Dedniel Núñez, replacing Thornton, gave up back-to-back home runs to Mike Yastrzemski and Riley. After Acuña bounced a one-out double off the wall, Núñez’s outing was over, and it was time for Jefry Yan. Yan allowed an RBI single to Baldwin, his first batter, and Acuña scored. The next two outs came without incident, and the seventh inning ended with the score Braves 6, Mets 2.
A walk from Ewing in the eighth inning went nowhere for the Mets, and Jack Weisenburger came out at the bottom of the inning to replace Yan. He allowed a two-out double to Yastrzemski, but Riley flied out to end the eighth and allow Weisenburger to escape unscathed. At the top of the ninth inning, Bo Bichette drilled a home run over the fence in center field to lead off. Benge lined a double into center field, and Robert followed him with a walk, still with no outs. Young grounded into a force out at second, leaving himself at first and Benge at third. Alvarez popped out in foul territory for the second out, and Semien grounded into a force out for the third out, and the Braves won 6-3.
The Mets have an off day tomorrow before facing the Nationals at home on Thursday. Robert Stock will face TBD. First pitch is at 7:10 PM ET.
SB Nation GameThreads
Box scores
Win Probability Added
Big Mets winner: Luis Robert Jr, +14% WPA
Big Mets loser: Dedniel Núñez, -16% WPA
Mets pitchers: -23% WPA
Mets hitters: -27% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Luis Robert Jr home run, +11.4% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Lane Thomas home run, -11.1% WPA
