The Mets head to Atlanta on a short run of better baseball, and for once the conversation around them is not about whether they’ve packed it in. New York enters the series at 52-67 after going 5-1 against the Guardians and Pirates, while the Braves sit at 71-47 after sweeping the Marlins and taking one of three from the Yankees, a stretch that included a walk-off loss on Friday night.
The timing makes this one a little more interesting, too. These clubs met just two weeks ago at Citi Field, where the Mets took two of three and came close to a sweep before dropping a 1-0 game in the second half of a doubleheader.
The bigger picture still points in different directions: Atlanta added at the deadline and is in control of its postseason fate, while the Mets moved out expiring pieces and were supposed to be winding down. Instead, they’ve at least shown some life.
That matters. Not because anyone should suddenly pencil New York into the Wild Card race - there are still six teams between the Mets and a playoff spot, and the remaining schedule is rough, with the Yankees, Braves, Rays, White Sox, and Brewers still ahead - but because the group has been playing with more purpose than expected.
Kodai Senga out of the bullpen in a small sample size has looked like a smart move. Sean Manaea seems to have rediscovered his second-half 2024 form.
The lineup has generally been working, and Luis Robert Jr. had a monster game on Sunday after the club couldn’t move him.
For the Mets, the rest of the season is really about evaluation: who fits next year, who deserves a longer look, and who can prove useful when the club starts building again. If they can do that while making the games worth watching, that’s something. And if it starts threatening the draft position, that’s a later problem.
Monday’s opener sets up Christian Scott against Bryce Elder at 7:15pm EDT on SNY.
Scott has been steady, and his last start against Atlanta was a good example of that even in a loss. He allowed one earned run on five hits and a walk while striking out seven.
In his next outing against the Guardians, he punched out seven again and took a tougher line, giving up three runs in five innings. Through 74.1 innings, he has 92 strikeouts, 32 walks, seven homers allowed, a 3.15 ERA, a 3.37 FIP, and a 78 ERA-.
He’s making a strong case to be a cornerstone of the Mets’ rotation in 2027.
Elder, meanwhile, is in his fifth big league season and appears to be throwing the ball better than he has since his first full season in 2023. Over 126.2 innings, he has 104 strikeouts, 42 walks, 19 homers allowed, a 3.69 ERA, a 4.44 FIP, and an 88 ERA-. He’s coming off his best outing of the year, a seven-inning start against the Marlins in which he allowed one run on one hit with two walks and three strikeouts.
Tuesday brings Nolan McLean against Martín Pérez at 7:15pm EDT on SNY.
McLean has been rolling. Over his last five games, he has struck out 38 batters in 29.1 innings, allowed two or fewer earned runs in four of those starts, and gone at least six innings in all four.
He hasn’t quite matched the full-blown run he had at the end of 2025, but his July and August are starting to look much more like that version of him. For the season, he has 130.2 innings, 156 strikeouts, 48 walks, 14 homers allowed, a 3.51 ERA, a 3.49 FIP, and an 87 ERA-.
Pérez has settled in a bit more deep into games since the end of July. In the three starts since then, he has gone five, seven, and three innings, with the three-inning outing cut short by a rain delay. Across 100.1 innings, he has 78 strikeouts, 40 walks, 11 homers allowed, a 3.14 ERA, a 4.21 FIP, and a 75 ERA-.
Wednesday’s finale has Zac Thornton facing Tyler Mahle at 7:15pm EDT on SNY.
Thornton has been giving the Mets useful innings and limiting damage even when he doesn’t have everything working. Against the Pirates on Friday, he turned in his third scoreless start in his last five, allowing four hits and two walks over five innings.
He also had a rougher outing against the Marlins last weekend, but even there he kept the game from getting away. In 39.1 innings, he has 27 strikeouts, 12 walks, three homers allowed, a 2.52 ERA, a 3.70 FIP, and a 62 ERA-.
That kind of stability from a young starter can go a long way.
Mahle is in his tenth season and has only been a Brave for about a week, but he already flashed what Atlanta is hoping for in his first start with the team: six innings, three hits, two walks, and nine strikeouts. For the year, he has 100.2 innings, 98 strikeouts, 39 walks, 14 homers allowed, a 4.83 ERA, a 4.17 FIP, and a 118 ERA-.
He’s been in line with his career rates in the usual categories, but he hasn’t had the same success he found last season with the Rangers. Even so, he’s a clear upgrade over what the Braves were using before the deadline.
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Mets Roster Crunch Is Putting 3 Familiar Names On Shaky Ground
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Francisco Alvarez Is Suddenly At The Center Of A Mets Debate
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Alvarezs future is already inviting speculation because the Mets have him under contract control through 2029, which gives them leverage if they decide to listen. That is where the offseason conversation starts to get interesting, especially with the Padres looking at their own catching picture and prospect depth, including Ethan Salas, as they sort through what comes next behind the plate. [Read more 🡒]