Mets Guilty of Elder Abuse ,then Hold on to Beat Braves 8-5

Mets 8 Braves 5 (Truist Park , Atlanta, GA)

Mets record: 53-67

Mets streak: Won 2

WP -Daniel Duarte (1-0)

LP - Bryce Elder (8-7)

S- Kodai Senga ( 1 )

Seat on the Korner: Kodai Senga

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

For the Star of the Game and the Virtual Seat on the Korner, we go to Kodai Senga, who added another unique chapter to his Mets career. Senga became the 211th pitcher in Mets history to record a save but this one was especially memorable because it was the first save of his career. Working the ninth inning, Senga was absolutely locked in, firing a scoreless frame while striking out two to slam the door on the Mets’ victory. Senga has not exactly thrived in the bullpen, allowing nine runs over 15.0 relief innings but has recorded at least four strikeouts in six of his last eight appearances. After throwing a scoreless seventh against Cleveland on August 6 and a scoreless eighth against Boston on July 10 — the first scoreless relief appearance of his career — Senga now has a save to add to the résumé. So tonight, Kodai Senga and his interpreter, Hiro Fujiwara, join Ralph on the Korner.

Need to Know

• Prior to the game the Mets made the following roster moves:

  RHP Devin Williams — Placed on the 15-Day Injured List, retroactive to August 8, with a right shoulder strain.

  RHP Jonathan Pintaro — Recalled from Triple-A. He will wear #91.

• The Mets are 6-1 over their last seven games.

• Tonight was the first of six straight contests against the

  NL East. They are 18-19 against the division this year

• Carson Benge has safely reached base in 14 straight

  games since July 25...He is batting 18-50 (.360) in that span with nine

  runs, two doubles, one triple, two homers, seven RBI, four walks, two

  steals in that span..

• Today was A.J. Ewings 22nd birthday, he celebrated by leading off the game with the longest double of his career. Ewing lined a ball to right the ball sat underneath the mat, it was not lodged ,Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. raised his hand while Ewing was on his way to third at which point the umpire stopped him, after a 10 minute review, the umpires said the call on the field was overturned, and the ball was not lodged , and then they awarded him a base he already occupied. Not sure what the point of the review was to be quite honest.

• Through 26 career Major League starts, Christian Scott has allowed four or fewer runs in each of them.Scott is the only starting pitcher in franchise history to allow four or fewer runs in his first 26 Major League games (no relief appearances during that span)...Two other Mets starters allowed four or fewer runs in 24 of their first 25 Major League games: Matt Harvey and Kodai Senga.Scott is only the fifth starter in Major League history to allow four or fewer runs in each of their first 26 career outings without making a

  relief appearance.

• The Mets are in the midst of a nine-game road trip (6-1) against the Guardians (3-0), Pirates (2-1) with two games left with the Braves(1-0).

• The Mets are now 28-33 away from Citi Field this season

• The Mets are 18-20 under Andy Green .

  
  

Turning Point

The Mets didn’t simply break the game open — they flipped the script in the first inning.

It started with A.J. Ewing ripping a line drive to right for a ground-rule double. Francisco Lindor followed with a groundout, moving Ewing to third, and Bo Bichette came through with a ground-ball single to left,(his sixth straight hit) scoring Ewing and putting the Mets ahead 1-0.

Carson Benge then worked a walk, and Jared Young followed with a line-drive single to right, moving Bichette to third and Benge to second. With the bases loaded, Marcus Semien struck out, leaving the Mets with two outs and the inning seemingly in danger of ending without further damage.

Instead, everything changed.

Brett Baty stepped to the plate and changed the game with one swing.

Baty launched a grand slam to center field, the first of his career, scoring Bichette, Benge and Young and turning a 1-0 Mets lead into a 5-0 advantage. It was the kind of swing that doesn't just add four runs to the scoreboard — it changes the entire feel of a game.

And the Mets weren't finished.

Jorge Polanco followed with a single, and Francisco Alvarez lined another single to left, putting runners on first and second. A.J. Ewing then flew out to right to finally end the inning.

But by then, the damage had been done.

The grand slam by Baty was the turning point — as a one-run inning suddenly became a five-run outburst, and Baty's blast provided the knockout punch in an inning that completely shifted the momentum..

Three Keys

The Mets are Offensive, But This Time in a Good Way

One of the biggest keys to the Mets’ recent success has been an offense that has suddenly found another gear. The Mets are **6-1 over their last seven games, scoring 50 runs while collecting 11 doubles, three triples and 14 home runs. They have driven in 49 runs and outscored their opponents 50-32, averaging an impressive 7.14 runs per game during the stretch.

That offensive explosion continued today, as the Mets collected 12 hits, with eight of their nine starters recording at least one hit Francisco Lindor led the way with three hits, including a towering 420-foot home run, as the Mets once again showed that when the entire lineup is contributing, they are a very difficult team to stop.

Pintaro, Lavender, Duarte, Senga Oh My

The Mets bullpen has undergone a complete transformation since Opening Day, to the point that there isn’t a single member of the current bullpen who was in the Mets’ Opening Day bullpen. And tonight, the revamped relief corps came through with five innings of work from Jonathan Pintaro, Nate Lavender, Daniel Duarte and Kodai Senga. The Mets may have been extremely fortunate to get Lavender back, because he is quickly looking like he could become a major part of this bullpen going forward. The four relievers combined to allow just two hits and one run, while striking out five, although they did issue five walks. Most importantly, they kept the Braves in check and allowed the Mets’ offense to turn an early lead into a victory. It’s a bullpen that looks very different from the one the Mets started the season with — and right now getting positive results.

Brent Suter channels Bruce Sutter

Brent Suter deserves a lot of credit for keeping the Braves within striking distance after Bryce Elder somehow managed to navigate five innings while allowing seven runs. Suter came in and suddenly looked less like Brent Suter and more like Bruce Sutter, the Hall of Famer who spent the final three seasons of his career with Atlanta. Suter delivered three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out three. And then, as if to add insult to injury, he somehow picked off Francisco Alvarez at first base — despite Alvarez having what appeared to be a lead of approximately two steps. It was an outstanding job by Suter, even if the Mets probably would have preferred he had simply stayed in the bullpen.