Braves 6 Mets 5 (Truist Park Atlanta, GA)
Mets record: 4-7
Mets Current streak: Lost 1
Mets Last 10 Games : 4-6
WP- Reynaldo Lopez 1-0
LP - Adrian Houser 0-1
S- Raisel Iglesias (2)
Seat on the Korner: Reynaldo Lopez
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.
Tonight's Seat on the Korner belongs to Reynaldo Lopez, who kept the Mets bats quiet. Lopez pitched six impressive innings, shutting out the Mets on three hits. The veteran righty walked three and struck out six.
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Need to Know
This was the Braves second one-run win this season. The other was Friday's night's 6-5 10-inning victory in Arizona.
The Braves have now won 17 of the last 22 contests against the Mets, outscoring them 151-86 over that stretch.
The Braves 1-3 hitters (Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley) went 6-10 with a double (Albies), 2 walks, an HBP, 4 RBIs, and 5 runs scored.
Today's win improved the Braves record over the Mets at Truist Park to 36-24 (.600).
Adrian Houser is now 0-5 in his career against the Atlanta Braves.
The Mets almost lodged their largest comeback of the season. After trailing 6-0 through 7 innings, they scored 3 in the 8th on a Pete Alonso HR, and rallied 2 more in the 9th, before Alonso struck out to end the game, stranding Francisco Lindor on first base.
Reliever Dedniel Nunez, who was just called up earlier in the day after the Mets DFA'd last night's starter Julio Teheran, made his major league debut tonight. The 27-year-old righty came on in the 5th inning and gave up three straight singles to start his career before settling down. All told, he gave the Mets 2 strong innings, yielding a run on just those 3 hits, striking out 3, and not walking anyone.
J.D. Martinez's Mets debut has been delayed a little more. The late spring training signee is experiencing back issues similar to what he experienced last year that cost him 15 games while with the Dodgers. Martinez received a cortisone injection and will not swing a bat for the next 3-5 days while he recovers.
Turning Point
Tonight's turning point occurred in the bottom of the fourth inning when Austin Riley drove in Ronald Acuna Jr. with a 2-out single to increase the Braves lead to 5-0. On a night when the Mets had trouble mounting anything close to a rally until the 8th inning, the 2-out RBI by Riley seemed to be the nail in the coffin. While the hit itself was a key to the Braves victory, it was what happened leading up to the hit that built up the moment. Earlier in the inning, starter Adrian Houser walked Acuna Jr. with one out. The Braves outfielder then stole second, and then third. With 2 outs and a 1-1 count, Houser threw a pitch that may have nicked the outside corner. He didn't get the call, and Riley hit the 2-1 pitch for a 2-out RBI single.
Three Keys
ROCKIN' REYNALDO
In his second career start for the Braves, veteran Reynaldo Lopez looked sharp, throwing 6 innings of 3-hit ball, walking three and striking out 6. For those into the newer school of stats, Lopez had a 2.74 FIP and a 4.17 xFIP.
TOP HEAVY
The top of the Braves lineup did the Mets in tonight. Leadoff batter Ronald Acuna Jr. was on base four times, with 2 singles, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch. He stole 3 bases and scored 3 runs. Not to be outdone, Ozzie Albies followed him with a 2-4 night including a double, a run scored and 2 RBIs. Then came Austin Riley who had 2 hits of his own, each of which drove in Acuna Jr., and he scored a run as well.
O WOW
Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna continued his hot start to the season with another hit and RBI. He's now batting .318 with a team-leading 13 RBIs.
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