Crucial Miscues Cost Mets A Chance At A Rare Sweep In Atlanta

Braves 4, Mets 3 (Truist Park, Atlanta, GA)

Mets Record: 69-61

Mets Streak: L1

Mets Last 10: 5-5

WP: Tyler Kinley (2-3) LP: Gregory Soto (1-4) SV: Raisel Iglesias (22)

Seat On The Korner:

We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.

Jurickson Profar delivered the go-ahead two run single for the Braves in the eighth.

Today's Seat On The Korner goes to Braves' outfielder Jurickson Profar, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, including the go-ahead two run single in the eighth inning to help Atlanta avoid getting swept here.

Need To Know:

• The Braves won the season series against the Mets 8-5, including a 4-2 record at Truist Park.

• The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 3-2 earlier today to drop the Mets a season-high seven games back in the National League East.

• The Mets' lead on the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Wild Card race is down to 2 games after this loss. Cincinnati is currently playing the finale of a three-game set with Arizona at post time.

• The Mets collected just six hits on the afternoon, with Mark Vientos' second-inning home run being the only one to go for extra bases.

• Bryce Elder, who entered the day with an ERA over six for Atlanta, allowed just two runs in six innings of work. Elder has an ERA of 2.77 against the Mets this season while the rest of the league has hammered him to the tune of a 6.47 ERA.

• Huascar Brazoban made his first relief appearance for the Mets since July 28th, allowing one hit and working one third of an inning.

• The Mets opted to have prospect Brandon Sproat work out of the bullpen for AAA Syracuse today in preparation for a potential big league role in relief. The returns weren't great as Sproat gave up seven runs (five earned) in 3.2 innings pitched on seven hits while walking two and striking out four.

Turning Point:

With the Mets clinging to a 2-0 lead in the sixth, David Peterson began to tire, loading the bases with two outs and Sean Murphy coming up. Despite having a relatively well-rested bullpen, Mets' manager Carlos Mendoza tried to squeeze another out from Peterson and it backfired as Murphy dunked a single into right to tie the game. That hit swung the momentum Atlanta's way and they were able to carry it the rest of the way to secure a win.

Three Things:

Mark Vientos Is Heating Up:

The Mets have been looking for more length in their lineup and may finally be getting it from Vientos, who generated most of the Mets' offense by homering for his third straight at bat in the second inning off of Elder. Over the past 30 days (entering today), Vientos has hit .292 with five home runs and 16 RBI, making a strong case that he needs to be playing every day as either the designated hitter or third baseman.

A Questionable Defensive Choice:

After the Mets pinch-ran for Vientos in the eighth with Tyrone Taylor, they kept him in the game in left field, moving Jeff McNeil into first and leaving Cedric Mullins in center. The move backfired as Profar's go-ahead hit came on a shallow bloop to center that Taylor probably catches. To make matters worse, Mullins let the ball go by him, allowing a second run to score easily and preventing Juan Soto's hit in the ninth from being a game-tying one.

The absence of Brandon Nimmo, the normal left fielder, has made things tricky for Mendoza but having Taylor in center instead of Mullins could have made a big difference here. Mullins hasn't played left field in five years, which may explain why Mendoza has been hesitant to use him there, but once Nimmo is back in the outfield the Mets should consider using Taylor as a defensive replacement for Mullins more often when they have a lead late in games.

When To Push The Envelope With The Mets' Bullpen:

After getting rare length from their starters in the past two days, the Mets had a chance to be aggressive with their bullpen usage, especially when Peterson began tiring in the sixth. Mendoza opted to try and squeeze a final out of Peterson, mindful of the fact that they are in the middle of a stretch of 16 consecutive games without an off day, and it backfired on him as Peterson gave up a game-tying hit to Murphy in the sixth.

The Mets have developed a bad habit this season of playing for future games instead of trying to go all out for the one at hand, which was most notably evident during a stretch in late June and early July where they willingly ran bullpen games or used spot starters when their rotation was short-handed. The philosophy seems to be that the Mets are worried about how their roster will be when they get to October, but having a more patient attitude with in-game roster management (and roster moves in general from David Stearns, who opted to shuffle the deck chairs for a while instead of promoting a pitching prospect like Nolan McLean) has essentially cost the Mets the National League East and made their path through October far more perilous than it should have been.