Pitching Duel Turns Into Extra-Inning Slugfest; Mets Outlast the Braves in Instant Classic

Mets 7 Braves 6, 10 Innings (Truist Park, Cobb County, GA)

Mets record: 37-53

Mets streak: Won 2

WP -Brooks Raley (3-3)

LP - Owen Murphy (0-1)

SV - Luke Weaver (1)

Seat on the Korner: Juan Soto

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.

If you could pencil in a player for the seat each time you draft one of these recaps, you can't go wrong with Juan Soto.

Soto once again shows why he's paid more and treated better than most players in the league. He's clearly living up to his reputation as one of, if not the best, hitters in all of baseball.

The slugger is batting .301 this year with a whopping .984 OPS. The guy is a monster, and the Mets are lucky to have him in the lineup. The season may seem lost, but he's the type of player who makes memorable moments in terrible seasons.

Soto was only 1-3, but he had 3 RBIs, 3 walks, one run, one stolen base, and the biggest hit of the night (up until that point) for the Mets. He hit a 3-run homer with two outs in the top of the 9th inning to give the Mets a 5-3 lead.

NASA is still waiting for Soto's homer to stop orbiting the moon.

Need to Know

• New streak? The Mets are now on a two-game winning streak.

  
  

• Makin' moves: Earlier today, the Mets acquired RHP Matt Seelinger

  from Detroit in exchange for cash considerations...The Westbury, New

  York, native has pitched to a 3.89 ERA at AAA Toledo.

  
  

• Number Juan: Juan Soto has 262 career home runs ... That is tied with Frank Robinson for the 11th-most in MLB history before turning 28...

  Giancarlo Stanton's next with 267... His 262 homers are 24th among

  active players...It is 21st all-time amongst players born in the Dominican Republic ... George Bell is next with 265.

• 
  

• DREAM WEAVER: Luke Weaver's streak of not allowing a run ended at 25.1 innings (23 G) when he allowed the ghost runner to score in the 10th; since that is considered an unearned run, his streak of not allowing an earned run rises to 26 innings ...Since May 1, he was the only relief pitcher in the majors with 25.0 innings pitched and zero runs allowed...During the same stretch, Weaver ranked tied for third among Major League relievers with a 0.60 WHIP and fifth with a .118 opponents' batting average (min. 50 batters faced)...Additionally, Weaver has struck out 34 batters and has issued only six walks since May 1.

  
  

• Road woes: The Mets are now 19-29 on the road in 2026....Last season, the Mets went 34-47 on the road...The team has posted a 4.28 ERA on the road, which is seventh in the National League.

  
  

• The Mets started seven (7) left-handed hitters in the lineup tonight against the righty Reynaldo Lopez.

  
  

• Francisco Lindor started the game at DH. Ronnie Mauricio got the start at shortstop.

  
  

• Bo Bichette, with two hits in five at-bats, ended the series 8-18 against the Braves.

Turning Point

Juan Soto's 3-run homer in the top of the 9th could easily be the turning point of this game, because it put the Mets ahead by two, going into the bottom of the 9th.

However, after Matt Olson tied the game up with his own two-run homer off of Devin Williams, it opened up the game for the next turning point, provided by the best backup catcher in the league, Luis Torrens.

Torrens' two-run double in the top of the 10th inning wasn't only clutch, it was delivered unexpectedly.

The infielders and the outfielders expected Torrens to slap the ball the other way. But he pulled the pitch deep to left field, scoring Bo Bichette from 3rd base and Jared Young all the way from 1st base.

The Mets went up 7-5 at that point and ended up winning the game 7-6. It was a great win in a season where great moments are few and far between.

Three Keys

Weaver Gets the Save

Although his runless streak ended tonight, Luke Weaver still pitched great in his appearance, earning his first save of the season.

The run that scored is unearned because the automatic runner scored from second base on a double by Michael Harris.

Reynaldo is King

The game started as a pitching and defensive duel, rather than the 10-9 run-happy game from the previous day. The game was 3-2 going into the top of the 9th.

The winner of that duel was clearly Braves starter Reynaldo Lopez. Lopez only threw 80 pitches, as the Braves eased him back into the rotation. But he pitched five innings, allowing only three hits and one solo homer to the young phenom Carson Benge.

Lopez's record stays at 4-1, with a solid 3.18 ERA this season. The Braves keep getting the most out of their starting pitchers, and they always get great defense behind their pitching.

Bravo for Defense

If David Stearns watched this game, he'd see what 'run prevention' really looks like.

Both the top of the 7th and top of the 8th half-innings ended on double plays, and both ended what seemed to be brewing rallies by the hapless Mets. But, as this season has continuously shown us, there's a fine line between winning and losing. The Braves play winning defense on all fronts. Outfielders making diving plays, and infielders making all the plays, catching and throwing.