The Mets got three balls over the fence and still walked away with a 6-3 loss to the Braves, a game that turned in a rough seventh inning after Zac Thornton had already done most of the heavy lifting on the mound.
Thornton worked six innings and allowed three runs, but the bullpen couldn’t hold the line. Dedniel Núñez and Jefry Yan combined to surrender three more in the seventh, and that was the end of any comeback push.
New York had a few early chances but couldn’t cash them in. A.J.
Ewing opened the game with a single into center after Tyler Mahle needed just nine pitches to get started, but Francisco Lindor grounded into a force out and was left on base. Thornton then settled in around a Drake Baldwin single in the first, keeping things scoreless.
The second inning was where the Braves first broke through. Lane Thomas sent a homer out to give Atlanta the lead, and Austin Riley followed with a single before Thornton worked out of the inning.
In the third, Ronald Acuña Jr. drew a leadoff walk, then moved up when Baldwin singled to center and Luis Robert Jr. was slow getting the ball back to the infield. Matt Olson’s double play still brought Acuña home, and Atlanta had a 2-0 edge.
The Mets kept putting runners on, but not for long. Carson Benge singled in the fourth and was stranded.
Jared Young did the same in the fifth, then got thrown out trying to stretch it into a double when Acuña made the play. The Braves added another run in the bottom of the fifth when Baldwin doubled, Sean Murphy singled, and Acuña drove in Riley with a single to center.
Acuña was tagged out trying to take second, but the damage was done: 3-0 Braves.
New York finally got some life in the sixth. Luis Torrens jumped on the first pitch he saw and launched a solo homer to start the inning, trimming the deficit. Thornton then answered with a clean frame of his own, retiring Atlanta on seven pitches.
The Mets got even closer in the seventh when Robert lifted a homer to left, cutting it to 3-2. But the bottom of the inning blew the game open.
Núñez gave up back-to-back homers to Mike Yastrzemski and Riley, then exited after Acuña doubled off the wall with one out. Yan came in and immediately allowed Baldwin’s RBI single, bringing Acuña home and pushing the Braves ahead 6-2.
New York had one last burst in the ninth. Bo Bichette led off with a home run to center, Benge followed with a double, and Robert walked to put the tying run on deck with no outs. But Young grounded into a force out, Alvarez popped out in foul territory, and Semien grounded into another force out to end it.
The Mets’ three homers weren’t enough to overcome the middle-inning damage, and Atlanta closed it out 6-3.
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The next step is less about what he can do and more about what he can clean up. Smith has been working to sharpen his swing decisions and pitch selection, because the swing-and-miss remains the area keeping his profile from really taking off, even as the Mets get a better look at the upside that made him worth acquiring. [Read more 🡒]