The Mets didn’t wait around in Atlanta. They hit Bryce Elder right away, piled up runs in a hurry, and held off a Braves push for an 8-5 win that kept their post-deadline surge rolling.
It started with A.J. Ewing’s leadoff double in the first, a play that was first ruled a ground-rule double before the call was changed after several minutes of umpire deliberation.
Francisco Lindor moved him to third, Bo Bichette drove him in with a single to left, and the inning only got uglier from there for Elder. Carson Benge walked, Jared Young singled, and after Marcus Semien struck out, Brett Baty turned the first pitch he saw into a grand slam to right-center.
Just like that, the Mets were up 5-0.
Atlanta answered in its half of the inning against Christian Scott. Drake Baldwin opened with a double, Matt Olson followed with a single, and after Michael Harris II struck out, Ozzie Albies worked an 11-pitch at-bat before getting hit by a pitch to load the bases. Mauricio Dubón then punched a ground ball through the third base hole for a two-run single, trimming the lead to 5-2 before Scott got Austin Riley to end the frame.
The Mets kept coming in the second. Lindor led off with another double, Elder got two outs, and then Young delivered again with an RBI single to right that made it 6-2. In the third, Elder nearly escaped cleanly after getting the first two outs, but Lindor crushed a deep shot to right field to push the Mets back ahead by five.
Atlanta kept hanging around. Scott worked scoreless second and third innings, but the fourth got away from him.
After the first out, a single and a walk put two men on, Sean Murphy struck out, and then Baldwin and Ronald Acuña Jr. delivered back-to-back two-out singles to bring in two more runs. Scott finished the inning by striking out Olson, but his night was done after four innings, with 7 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts and 4 earned runs.
The Braves chipped away again in the fifth against Jonathan Pintaro, who had just been recalled to the Mets’ active roster after Devin Williams went on the injured list. Pintaro allowed a single and a walk to open the inning, then watched a Dubón double play leave a runner at third. That runner scored on a wild pitch, cutting the Mets’ edge to 7-5.
From there, the New York bullpen steadied things. Nate Lavender worked a scoreless sixth, then returned for the seventh but exited after Harris opened with a leadoff double. Daniel Duarte handled the next two innings without allowing a hit, helped along by strong defense - including Francisco Alvarez’s catch against the netting in foul territory and Ewing’s diving grab on a line drive to end the eighth.
The Mets added one more in the ninth. Victor Mederos came in for Atlanta and quickly loaded the bases with a single, walk and hit-by-pitch. Young then lifted a sacrifice fly to center, bringing home another run and making it 8-5.
With Devin Williams on the injured list, Kodai Senga got the save chance in the ninth and handled it cleanly. He struck out the first two batters he faced, issued a two-out walk, and finished a hitless inning to close it out.
The Mets are now 6-1 since selling at the deadline, and they’ve also won the season series against the Braves for the first time since 2017. Game two of the series is tomorrow evening.
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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 🡒]