Mets 16, Braves 4 (Truist Park)
Mets Record: 5-7
Mets Streak: Won 1
Mets Last 10 Games: 5-5
WP: Jose Quintana (1-1)
LP: Allan Winans (0-1)
Seat On The Korner: Jose Quintana
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.
While the offense as a collective unit did the job for the Mets, tonight's Seat On The Korner goes to Mets' starting pitcher Jose Quintana. The Mets handed Quintana a 7-0 lead after the top of the third inning and he did a good job keeping a strong Braves' lineup off balance, giving up three runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work. Quintana delivered a steady performance to help the Mets secure a pivotal series victory.
Need To Know
The Mets secured their first series victory in Atlanta since July of 2022 and only their fourth series victory at Truist Park in their last 15 attempts, a run that dates back to 2018.
Braves' starter Allan Winans, taking the rotation spot of injured righty Spencer Strider, gave up seven runs (six earned) in five innings.
The Braves had allowed just one unearned run in their first ten games of the season entering today. The Mets picked up four unearned runs this afternoon thanks to two Atlanta errors.
The Mets set season highs in both runs (16) and hits (16).
This is the first time the Mets have scored 16 runs in a game since beating the Oakland Athletics 17-6 on April 14th, 2023.
Every Mets' starting position player recorded at least one hit and everyone but Brett Baty crossed the plate at least once.
Former Met Luis Guillorme pitched the ninth inning for the Braves and gave up a grand slam to Tyrone Taylor, which was the third of Taylor's career.
Left-hander Tyler Jay made his major league debut for the Mets, allowing one run in the final two innings to close out the win.
This is the fourth time in franchise history that the Mets have beaten the Braves by at least 12 runs in a game.
The Mets wrapped up their six-game road trip with a 4-2 record.
Turning Point
Today's turning point came in the third inning, when the Mets were trying to push out as many runs on the Braves as possible. With a runner on second base and one out, D.J. Stewart crushed a changeup from Winans deep to right field for his second home run of the season. The bomb put the Mets up 7-0 and gave Quintana plenty of run support against an explosive Atlanta offense.
Three Keys
Sloppy Defense From Atlanta
Keith Hernandez is known for his praise of fundies and the Braves didn't put their best foot forward on that front. The Mets got their second run of the day in the second inning when Michael Harris mis-judged a fly ball off the bat from Brandon Nimmo, allowing it to carom off his glove to plate a run. Later in the same inning, Orlando Arcia got eaten up on a hard-hit grounder by Starling Marte to allow Nimmo to score. Atlanta usually isn't this sloppy in the field and the Mets took full advantage.
Piling On The Runs
No lead is ever safe against the elite Braves' lineup and it looked like Atlanta had a comeback in them after scoring three runs against Quintana in the bottom of the sixth. The Mets responded to that punch from the Braves by immediately tacking on more runs, adding three in the seventh and two in the eighth to push the game into blowout territory, allowing them to give more rest to their key relievers.
Brett Baty's Continued Confidence
One of the key takeaways from the first two weeks of the season has been the rise in confidence of Baty, who looked like a shattered player at the end of 2023. Baty didn't had a tremendous day at the plate but he did drive in the first run of the game while making another spectacular defensive play, leaping to rob Ronald Acuna Jr of an extra-base hit to end the fifth. If the Mets can see Baty build on his strong start to seize the position, they will have answered a significant roster question with a potential long-term solution.