The Mets fought back to tie the game in the ninth, but the Atlanta Braves walked off with a 4-3 win on Thursday night.
Here are the key takeaways …
– Just as they did on Wednesday, the Mets got on the board first on Thursday night. After Francisco Lindor walked in the top of the first, he stole second and came around to score on a Michael Conforto RBI single.
– Given a one-run lead before ever taking the mound, Jacob deGrom had a rare poor first inning. Ehire Adrianza got things started with a triple, and he was quickly driven in by an Ozzie Albies single. Next up, Austin Riley got to a deGrom fastball on the outside corner and slashed a two-run home run to right field to put Atlanta up 3-1.
DeGrom was visibly frustrated after the inning, slamming his glove in the dugout and appearing to say something briefly to James McCann. Thursday’s start marked the first time all season that deGrom has allowed three earned runs in an outing.
In the second, deGrom got himself into a second-and-third-with-nobody-out jam, but he struck out the next three Braves to get out of it, and he seemed locked in from there. He struck out the side in the fourth inning to give him nine punch-outs to that point.
– During the middle innings, deGrom was untouchable, retiring 15 in a row with a streak of eight straight strikeouts at one point. By the end of the sixth inning, deGrom had racked up 14 total strikeouts.
DeGrom got off to a tough start, but he ended his night in completely dominant fashion, retiring the final 18 Braves he faced in a row. He allowed three earned on five hits while striking out 14 hitters on the night. His season ERA now stands at 0.95.
– The Mets’ offense was quiet after their first-inning run, but Dom Smith delivered a solo home run off of Ian Anderson in the top of the seventh to cut Atlanta’s lead to 3-2. The blast was Smith’s seventh of the year.
The Mets then had a real chance to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth as they put runners at second and third with two outs, but Pete Alonso grounded out to shortstop to end the threat.
– Trevor May got out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth with a huge strikeout of Dansby Swanson to keep it a one-run game going into the ninth. And with the Mets down to their final three outs, Smith launched his second home run off the game, this one off closer Will Smith, to tie the game 3-3. It was Smith’s first career two-home run game.
– With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, Seth Lugo tried to make a barehand play on a swinging bunt, but he made a wild throw while falling down, allowing Guillermo Heredia to reach second with nobody out. After Heredia moved to third on a groundout, Lugo got a big strikeout of Kevan Smith and then intentionally walked Ronald Acuna Jr. to get to Ender Inciarte with two away.
Inciarte worked a walk to load the bases, setting the stage for Freddie Freeman, who delivered with a walk-off single off Lugo’s foot.
Highlights
What’s next
The Met and Yankees begin a new chapter in the Subway Series on Friday night in the Bronx at 7:05 p.m. on SNY.
Taijuan Walker will take the mound against Jordan Montgomery.