Not again? Mets Blow Six-Run Lead, Lose to Braves, 11-6

Braves 11 Mets 6 (Citi Field, Queens, NY)

Mets record: 64-56

Mets streak: Lost 1

Last 10: 2-8

WP - Aaron Bummer (2-2)

LP - Reid Garrett (3-5)

Seat on the Korner: Jurickson Profar

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.

Michael Harris may have gotten the key hit (see below), but Braves left fielder Jurickson Profar was the catalyst. Profar, of course, got a late start to the season because of an 80-game PED suspension and a slow start after that (.209 average since July 19). But Wednesday night, he began the game with a single off of David Peterson, singled again in the third and then, in the fourth, hit a bases-clearing double to cut the Mets' lead to 6-4. That hit seemed to be the momentum-turner in the game. Profar has been heating up -- he had three home runs on the Braves' last homestand and his 23 walks since July 18 are six more than any MLB player over that span, Joan Soto included. So sit down, Jurickson, and chat with Ralph about that free agent contract you signed in the offseason, the PED suspension and how you feel since.

Need to Know

• The game started after a 95 minute rain delay.

• With the loss, the Mets failed to gain ground on the Phillies, who were shut out by the Reds, 8-0. But they lost ground to the Reds for the final wild card spot and have only a one-game lead.

• The nine-run fourth represented the first time the Mets had allowed as many runs in an inning since Stephen Matz gave up 10 to the Phillies on April 4, 2019.

• It also was the first time in team history that the team has blown a lead of four runs or more in three consecutive games.

• Juan Soto has reached base in all 11 games this month: 12-43, nine runs, four homers, seven RBI, seven walks, three steals . But he struck out three consecutive times, the last two with men on base, after homering in the second.

• It's a cruel business. Hours after rescuing the overworked Mets bullpen by pitching four scoreless innings in the 13-5 Tuesday blowout, Justin Hagenman got his expected reward: a trip back to Syracuse. Thanks, Justin, and maybe we'll see you again in two weeks, the next time a pitcher is needed. Activated to take Hagenman's place: Paul Blackburn, who entered in the fifth.

• On balance, Blackburn did his job as an innings-eater, lasting five frames and retiring the last 12 batters he faced, But he did surrender a two-run home run to Marcel Ozuna that effectively put the game out of reach for the Mets.

• The Uber that brought Hageman to Syracuse might have picked up a passenger for the return trip: Nolan Mclean, whom the Mets announced will make his major league debut against the Mariners. No word yet on whom the Mets will send to the Salt City in return.

• Meanwhile, the series concludes Thursday with Kodai Senga taking the mound against Bryce Elder.

Turning Point

With David Peterson having imploded (see below) Reid Garrett was called upon to stanch the bleeding in what had become a 6-4 game. Garrett promptly allowed a single to Marcel Ozuna to cut the Mets' lead to one, and then walked Sean Murphy to load the bases. Up came Michael Harris II, who looked lost in the first half of the season, but who came into this game hitting .364 since the All Star break, with six doubles, three triples, six homers and 15 runs scored (including his fourth consecutive multiple hit game Tuesday night). Garrett promptly grooved one to Harris, who hit it out to the Rising Apple in centerfield, giving the Braves a 9-6 lead from which they never looked back.

Three Keys

Cookie Crumbles Early

Carlos Carrasco, making his first-ever start against the team whose rotation he anchored from 2021-2023, got off to a shaky start. Carrasco, who was released by the Yankees earlier this year and who entered the game with a 6.18 ERA, gave up a leadoff double to Francisco Lindor and walked Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo to load the bases. Up stepped Pete Alonso, Tuesday night's hero, and Alonso responded with a sharp single to center, driving in two. Before the inning was over, Carrasco would load the bases again and yield a sacrifice fly to Cedric Mullins that could have been worse had Eli White not made a nice shoestring catch. Three runs, 39 pitches and a good start for a Mets team that put up a 13 spot Tuesday. Things looked even rosier after the Mets put up another three-spot in the second, highlighted by Juan Soto's 29th home run.

But then......

Peterson Catches 4th Inning Disease

David Peterson, the Mets' steadiest starter and the only one who consistently gave them length, fell victim to the same bug that infested the rest of the rotation in the fourth inning. There were warning signs: after skating through the first two innings, Peterson struggled in the third, allowing two ground ball hits and loading the bases with a walk before escaping. The fourth was even worse: four walks, two hits and four walks before giving way to Reid Garrett, having squandered four runs of a six-run lead and thrown 80 pitches in 3 1/3 inning. Garrett wasn't much better, allowing a single to Marcel Ozuna to cut the Mets' lead to one, and walking Sean Murphy to load the bases -- again -- and then serving up the grand slam ball to Michael Harris II.

What A Bummer!

The Braves called on Aaron Bummer to hold the fort after Carlos Carrasco's ineffectiveness, and on balance, he rose to the occasion . His line in the box score shows 2 1/3 innings, two hits and three strikeouts. But the real story is what happened in the bottom of the fourth, with Bummer on the mound in a 9-6 game. After getting two quick outs, Bummer hit Pete Alonso with a pitch and walked Jeff McNeil. Starling Marte worked the count to 3-2 and then singled to right. Alonso, who assumedly was running with the pitch (replays were unclear whether he stumbled between second and third or rounding third), was thrown out at home by Eli White. The Mets never recovered.