The Braves came within one swing of turning Sunday afternoon into something unforgettable.
Down seven runs after the Mets poured five runs across in the top of the ninth, Atlanta suddenly found its offense again and nearly erased the whole mess before falling 10-9 at home. The loss snapped the Braves’ two-game winning streak and kept them from posting their first three-game run in a month.
It started with a burst in the first inning that looked a lot like the Braves might keep rolling after Saturday’s 14-3 win. Drake Baldwin was hit by a pitch to open the game, Ozzie Albies followed with a double to right, and Michael Harris II drove both runners in with a one-out single to make it 2-1. After a throwing error on a pickoff attempt, Mauricio Dubón added an RBI single to center and Atlanta was up 3-1.
That early cushion didn’t last long. Martín Pérez allowed a run in the first after the first four Mets reached base, then things got worse in the second when New York sent the first five batters of the inning on base and grabbed a 5-3 lead. Pérez eventually settled down, retiring the next nine hitters he faced, but Juan Soto lined a ball off his left forearm and forced him out after 4 1/3 innings.
Pérez (6-6) gave up five runs, four earned, on six hits. It was a rough start that could have gone completely off the rails, though he managed to steady it after the early damage.
The Braves’ bats, meanwhile, went quiet for most of the afternoon. After getting to Mets starter Nolan McLean early, Atlanta managed only two hits over the next five-plus innings. McLean finished with five hits allowed and three runs, two earned, over six innings, striking out five and walking one.
The bullpen portion of the game didn’t give the Braves much either. Brooks Raley and Luke Weaver each retired three straight batters to bridge the seventh and eighth after Austin Riley’s bloop single chased McLean. Huascar Brazoban then struggled in the ninth, getting only one out and forcing the Mets to turn to Devin Williams.
That set the stage for Atlanta’s wild last stand.
The first four Braves batters of the ninth reached safely, and Baldwin capped the surge by launching his first career grand slam just over the left-field wall. It was only his second homer in 16 games since coming off the injured list, and it came one day after he earned his first All-Star nod.
From there, Atlanta kept pressing. Matt Olson doubled, a wild pitch moved the runners, Michael Harris II reached on an infield single and Dubón singled to left, putting the tying run on third and the winning run on second with two outs. But Dominic Smith struck out, ending the rally one hit short.
It was the first major league game since 2019 in which both teams scored five or more runs in the ninth inning. If the Braves had finished the job, it would have been the first time since 2000 that a team came back from seven or more runs down in the ninth to win.
The day also brought another concern for Atlanta: Pérez exited after taking a liner off his left forearm, and the team will now have to wait on the severity of the injury and what it means for the rotation depth.
The Braves got some help from the lower-leverage arms after Pérez left. Tyler Kinley handled the final two outs of the fifth, Danny Young and Dylan Dodd each worked a scoreless inning, and Carlos Carrasco, recalled Sunday morning, threw a scoreless eighth before the ninth unravelled.
Atlanta now has to win Monday night with Reynaldo López on the mound if it wants to take the four-game series instead of settling for a split.
In Other News...
Braves Quietly Got Back A Bullpen Arm They May Desperately Need
For most of the season, Atlantas bullpen has looked like one of the clubs quiet advantages, but the last stretch has brought a little more unease. Raisel Iglesias has blown a save, Dylan Lee has had shaky outings and Didier Fuentes is nearing the break, which has made the relief picture feel less settled than it did a few weeks ago.
Into that mix comes Danny Young, the left-hander the Braves have quietly gotten back after his injury layoff. His early work this season has been encouraging enough to give Atlanta another option for mid-to-high-leverage spots against left-handed hitters, and perhaps a way to ease the load on some of the other arms that have been asked to carry more lately. The bigger question is how quickly the Braves lean into that role, and whether Young can turn a useful return into something more than just a temporary fix. [Read more 🡒]
Walt Weiss Decisions Just Cost The Braves A Game They Had Won
The Braves had enough offense to put themselves in position to win, but the game slipped into the kind of extra-inning mess that usually leaves a manager under the microscope. Atlanta scored six runs and still could not finish off the Mets, with the lineups missed chances and a thin bench leaving the club in a difficult spot once the game stretched beyond regulation.
Walt Weiss choices only made the margin for error smaller. The Braves were already navigating a less-than-ideal setup in extras, and the way the bullpen and lineup were handled became a major part of why a game that looked won turned into a loss, even before the final inning had fully played out. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Cant Afford Another Quiet Deadline From Alex Anthopoulos
With the trade deadline approaching, the Braves look like a club that cannot simply sit back and hope the rotation and outfield sort themselves out. ESPNs latest best-fit rundown had Atlanta attached to 17 of the top 25 deadline candidates, which is a pretty clear sign that the market sees a team with real needs and a front office that should be active. Starting pitching remains the obvious priority, and the list of names floating around ranges from Tarik Skubal and Joe Ryan to Sonny Gray, Reid Detmers, Casey Mize, Jose Soriano and Freddy Peralta.
The outfield search is a little murkier, with Taylor Ward looking like the most realistic target if Atlanta wants to add a bat without emptying the system. Shortstop is another area worth watching, but the price tag on the top names would be steep enough to make any deal complicated fast. For Alex Anthopoulos, the pressure is less about making a splash than avoiding another deadline that leaves the roster looking almost exactly the same when the dust settles. [Read more 🡒]