The Mets' lineup, dangerously lackluster lately, at long last received the fuel it needed to put another come-from-behind-win on the ledger.
Charlie Morton extended his scoreless innings streak to 20 2/3 until James McCann snapped the streak with a thirst-quenching, three-run home run to tie the game in the seventh. McCann’s seventh dinger of the year knocked Morton out of the game and Jose Peraza kept the momentum going against the Atlanta bullpen with a pinch-hit double off the bench. Francisco Lindor then drove him in with a go-ahead RBI single to complete a spirited four-run rally that erased a three-run deficit.
The Mets beat the Braves, 4-3, on Tuesday night at Truist Park after that decisive seventh inning. They began a three-game set in Atlanta with celebrations over clutch at-bats and a dominant bullpen, rather than more scrutiny over their lack of offense.
Right-hander Tylor Megill, making his second career start, carried a shutout into the fifth inning much like his MLB debut last week, which was also against the Braves. Even though most of Atlanta’s lineup on Tuesday got a glimpse of Megill’s arsenal six days prior, the rookie pitcher was able to keep the Braves off balance with eight strikeouts across his five-inning outing. That was until Ozzie Albies jumped on Megill’s first-pitch change-up and parked it in the center field seats for a three-run homer in the fifth inning.
Megill recorded three outs to complete the rest of the fifth inning and solemnly walked back to the Mets dugout, even though he had pitched well until that Albies homer. The 25-year-old has gotten burned his third time through the order for two straight starts. Megill had shown flashes of excellence, otherwise.
And yes, the Mets seventh-inning rally was encouraging, and necessary, to bury the Braves. If that was the spark the club needed to put up better results (the Mets are ranked 29th in MLB in runs per game) then the team could begin July on a legitimate hot streak. But one good offensive inning does not equate to all the problems being solved.
The Mets began Tuesday night going 3 for 21 with no runs in six innings against Morton, who was again terrific against the Mets until his mistake to McCann. Over their last six games the Mets have scored just one run before the seventh inning, or in other words, one run scored in 36 innings. In those same six games, the club has amassed 16 runs in the seventh inning or later.
The late-inning comebacks from the Mets are made possible with a pitching staff that prevents opponents from putting more runs on the board. On Tuesday night, the quartet of Drew Smith, Trevor May, Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz combined for four scoreless innings in relief to keep the Mets in the game.
Diaz collected his 17th save of the year, successfully converting all but one of his save opportunities this season, and lowered his ERA to 2.84.
