Mets Get a Series Win Over Atlanta As They Bash Braves, 8-1, In Rubber Game

The New York Mets came up big against their division rivals today, as they beat the Atlanta Braves in the rubber game of their three-game set, 8-1, behind a three-hit game by A.J. Ewing to go with some great bullpen work to back up starter Freddy Peralta. 

Things didn’t look great for Peralta initially, however. Atlanta scored first on a single by Michael Harris II, with Mauricio Dubon singling him to second and another single by Matt Olson moving him to third. Dominic Smith got the run home on a sacrifice fly, and the Braves had a 1-0 lead. 

The lead didn’t last long. The Mets rallied for four in the bottom of the first on a rally that featured a bizarre scoring play. The action started with a walk to Carson Benge and a single by Bo Bichette, but Juan Soto made the strange decision to bunt and wound up forcing Benge at third. But Jared Young bailed him out with an RBI single to score Bichette. 

A.J. Ewing then doubled, and Soto scored easily. Young wound up scoring on a wacky error by left fielder Mike Yazstremski, as his throw from the left field corner hit the netting pole and caromed into the outfield, which allowed Young to score and got Benge to third. That made it 3-1, and a Brett Baty single got the fourth run in. 

The rally staked starter FReddy Peralta to a 4-1 lead, and he held it through the fifth, as he exited with a line that included a run on four hits to go with two strikeouts and a walk. 

The Mets added to their lead off Atlanta starter Bryce Elder as they played long ball in the bottom of that inning. Solo home runs by Ewing and Markcus Semien made it 6-1 to give New York a comfortable lead, and after that the relievers took over. 

The featured cast on this day included Cionel Perez, Daniel Duarte, A.J. Minter and Huascar Brazoban, as they shut the Braves down for the final four frames to give Peralta the win. The Mets also piled on with a pair of runs in the eighth on a two-run RBI single from Soto, and the result was a satisfying series win as the Mets played up to their competition against Atlanta on this particular weekend. 

The Mets now head to Ohio to meet the Cincinnati Reds for three more, with David Peterson being the likely bulk reliever in that one against Chase Burns for the slumping Reds.