Respect Your Elder ? Mets Had Other Plans in 8-1 Win

Mets 8 Braves 1 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets record: 32-39

Mets streak: Won 1

WP - Freddy Peralta (5-5)

LP - Bryce Elder (5-4)

Seat on the Korner: A.J. Ewing

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.

There are days when prospects announce themselves, and A.J. Ewing had one of those days Sunday. The young outfielder who came into the came in 0 for his last 5. He was everywhere, collecting a single, a double, and his second major league home run while driving in two runs and scoring twice. His two-run double in the first inning helped swing momentum to the Mets, and his fifth-inning blast added to Atlanta's misery. He rasied his average 19 points on the day . For one afternoon, the Seat on the Korner next to Ralph belongs to the rookie who looked anything but overwhelmed .

Need to Know

• The Mets are 10-6 over their last 16 games and 22-18 over their last

  40 games.

• The team finished the six-game homestand (3-3) against the Cardinals (1-2) and Braves (2-1).

• The Mets hit the road for an important six-game, seven-day road trip against the Reds (three games) and Phillies (three games)..

• The Mets have won 12 of their last 18 games at Citi Field...They are now 18-18 at home this season.

• The Mets are now 66-84 all-time against the Braves at Citi Field.They are 7-4 against Atlanta dating back to June 25, 2025 and have outscored the Braves 73-44 during that span.

• Freddy Peralta made his 10th career appearance (9th start) against the

  Braves...Through his first ten outings against Atlanta he is 6-2 with a 4.01 ERA (22 ER/49.1 IP) and 56 strikeouts...Has allowed two or fewer

  runs in six of his nine career starts against the Braves.

• Dating to May 2, 2021, Matt Olson has played in 854 consecutive regular season games; the longest active streak in baseball...It’s the second-longest streak since 2000, following Miguel Tejada (1,152, 2000-07)...Since joining Atlanta prior to the 2022 season, he’s played in each of the club’s 719 regular season games.

• It took 34 games but Carson Benge recorded his first lead off walk.

Turning Point

From the outset, Sunday's game at Citi Field looked like it might be a short afternoon for Freddy Peralta. Michael Harris II and Mauricio Dubón opened the game with singles, and after Matt Olson's base hit loaded the bases with nobody out, Atlanta quickly grabbed a 1-0 lead on Dominic Smith's sacrifice fly. But after striking out Ozzie Albies and retiring Austin Riley on a pop up, Peralta escaped the inning with only minimal damage, setting the stage for a Mets offense that would soon make Bryce Elder's day a miserable one. Peralta would settle down and give the Mets 5 solid innings.

Three Keys

Back to Back Jacks

The Mets added some much-needed breathing room in the fifth inning thanks to a pair of back to back swings. Rookie A.J. Ewing started the fireworks by launching his second major league home run, and one batter later Marcus Semien followed with his ninth of the season. Semien's blast nearly turned into another highlight-reel robbery by Michael Harris II, one of baseball's premier defensive center fielders and a player who has broken the hearts of many hitters with spectacular catches over the years. Harris appeared to have timed his leap perfectly and initially had the ball in his glove, but as his glove and wrist collided with the top of the center field fence, the impact jarred the ball loose . The back-to-back shots transformed a 4-1 advantage into a commanding 6-1 lead, taking much of the drama out of the afternoon and putting the Braves in an even deeper hole..

From Fenway to Citi: Another Yastrzemski Meets a Pesky Pole

The first inning took a strange turn on A.J. Ewing’s double into the left field corner, but it wasn’t the hit itself that was strange—it was what happened after Mike Yastrzemski fielded it. As runners advanced, Yastrzemski tried to make a strong throw toward third base for the cutoff, but the throw never got there. Instead, it struck the pole supporting the outfield netting down the line, an awkward ricochet that sent the ball back toward centerfield and turned a routine defensive relay into chaos. The misfire allowed Jared Young to score and Ewing to move to third, a bizarre break that help the Mets build momentum.

Perfect Pen(manship) AGAIN

For the second time this week, the Mets bullpen turned a game into a no-hit showcase, once again locking in after the starter exited and refusing to let the opponent find any rhythm the rest of the way. This time, it began with Cionel Pérez opening the sixth and getting two outs before handing things to Daniel Duarte, who bridged the gap with 1.2 innings of steady work. A.J. Minter followed with a sharp 2/3 of an inning to keep the Braves off balance, and Huascar Brazobán put the finishing touch on the night with a clean, 1-2-3 ninth inning. In all, the relief corps combined to completely silence Atlanta’s offense down the stretch, erasing any early-game momentum and ensuring the Mets’ lead never came under threat. Just like they did earlier in the week, the bullpen didn’t just protect a win—it shut the door and removed the possibility of a comeback entirely.