Braves Turn Up Heat on Mets

When the New York Mets most desperately needed a win, their allegorical tormentors, the Atlanta Braves, once again found a way to stomp all over their hearts in an extra-inning 5-4 Mets loss that extended the Amazin's skid to four games.

There, the Mets were leading 4-1 in the eighth inning with David Peterson rolling through the Braves' lineup. On the scoreboard, the Phillies had already lost to Miami, so a win over Atlanta would have gained the Mets another game in the standings.

It just wasn't meant to be.

In a collapse symbolic of so many when the Mets played in Atlanta, whether it be a the Launchpad (AKA Atlanta Fulton County Stadium), or Turner Field (a true house of horrors in Mets history), the Mets found a way to lose epically.

The problems started when the Mets tried to push Peterson into the eighth inning. He walked Nick Allen to lead off the inning, then served up a single to Ronald Acuna Jr. Finally, manager Carlos Mendoza removed the tiring Peterson, but the damage was already done.

Reed Garrett, who has been perhaps the Mets' most consistent reliever this year, picked the wrong time to have his worst outing. Marcell Ozuna laced a double down the left field line, driving three runners in to tie the game at four.

The Mets never recovered.

In the top of the ninth, Juan Soto got crossed up on a spectacular catch by Acuna at the wall, and wound up getting doubled up off of first base for a double play. The Mets never threatened again.

So here the Amazin's are in the midst of a four-game skid. Peterson was this close to changing the narrative, but the story is too obvious: the Mets have pitching problems.

With the Phillies bearing down on them in the standings and Atlanta still proving to be a thorn in their side, the Mets desperately need their pitching to hold up. And that might be a challenge moving forward, especially with Kodi Senga and Taylor Megill both on the Injury List.