The Force Was With Atlanta In Series Finale With Mets

 

Star Wars was the theme of the day on the video boards. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Atlanta Braves were stifled by Mets starter Tylor Megill early, but once they found the force on May The Fourth Star Wars Day at Citi Field Wednesday afternoon, they put up seven runs in the sixth inning on their way to a 9-2 win.

Despite the Mets sweeping Tuesday's doubleheader, the Braves earned a  split of this four-game series, leaving their record at 12-15. The Mets went 4-3 overall on the homestand, which started with them winning two of three against the Phillies. Their record is still a superb 18-9, right at the top of the National League standings. 

Megill picked up where he left off from his five innings of no-hit ball last Friday against the Phillies performance last Friday, as he retired the first seven Atlanta hitters before surendering a walk to Dansby Swanson with one out in the third before striking out Guillermo Heredis and getting Ronald Acuna, Jr., to ground out.

Atlanta's first hit came in the fifth, when Adam Duvall singled. This came after Travis d'Arnaud reached on an error, so the Braves had two on base and no out, but Megill worked out of it by getting Swanson to fly out and striking out Heredia and Acuna.

Tylor Megill facing Marcell Ozuna in the fourth inning. Photo by Jason Schott.

As good as Megill was, Braves starter Ian Anderson gave the Mets nothing, as he worked  around a pair of two runners on base and one out situations in the first and third innings to keep it a scoreless game.

Megill came back out for the sixth, and got Matt Olson to fly out to start it. With his pitch count approaching 90, and in longer than he stayed in Friday's game, he surrendered singles to Austin Rilety, Marcell Ozuna, and Ozzie Albies before being lifted.

The Mets turned to Adam Ottavino, who was superb on Monday and Tuesday, but they rolled the dice turning to him a third straight day, and the house won.

The first batter the big righty faced was d'Arnaud, and he walked him to force in a run to make it 1-0 Braves. He then gave up a two-run double to Duvall, and d'Arnaud came in on a wild pitch while Swanson was up to make it 4-0. 

Swanson then singled home Duvall to make it 5-0 and that was all for Ottavino, who did not record an out.

Trevor Williams was on next for the Mets, and he walked Heredia before allowing a single to Acuna, which brought home Swanson to make it 6-0.

Olson, who recoreed the first out of the inning before eight straight Braves reached base, grounded to first base for the second out, and the Mets got Acuna, Jr., into a rundown, which he stalled enough to allow Heredia to score and make it 7-0. 

Acuna, Jr., threw the Mets off so much, at one point, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso looked to throw him out at second base and nobody was there, so the inning continued. Williams struck out Riley to end it.

The Mets only mustered to get one run back in the bottom of the sixth when Alonso doubled with one out, and he came in to score on an Eduardo Escobar double, and that was all for Anderson. 

Collin McHugh came on to close out the sixth, and Atlanta then put up a couple more runs to make it 9-1 in the eighth and put it away.

Anderson earned the win to improve to 3-1 on the season, and lowered his earned run average (ERA) to 4.01 (it was 4.66 entering this one), as he went 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits and four walks, with one strikeout.

Megill took the loss, his first of the season, to fall to 4-1, as he allowed three runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out nine, in 5 1/3 innings. His ERA jumped a half-point from 1.93 to 2.43 on the season.

The Mets continue this tough stretch against their divisional rivals with four this weekend in Philadelphia starting Thursday night.