ATLANTA _ Like Touki Toussaint the day before him, Kyle Wright pitched into and out of trouble across his brief outing. It proved enough for another Braves win over the Mets.
Wright pitched 3-1/3 scoreless innings, escaping dangerous situations in each frame, while the Braves offense did just enough to win 4-0 on Sunday at Truist Park.
The Braves have won five in a row and moved to 5-0 at home. They're also 5-1 against the Mets, securing at least a season series split. The teams only play four more times, with the Braves going for a sweep at home Monday.
Wright allowed five runs in 2-2/3 innings during his first start, but he felt there was enough on which to build. While Sunday wasn't smooth sailing, Wright managed to keep the Mets off the board. New York stranded 19 base runners across the first four innings.
The Mets loaded the bases on 18 pitches to begin the first. Wright induced an infield popup before Robinson Cano grounded into a double play. A one-out walk and single positioned the Mets again in the second, but Wright retired Tomas Nido on a grounder and struck out Brandon Nimmo.
Jeff McNeil doubled to open the third, though it easily could've been a charged error to Ronald Acuna, who misplayed the ball in center. Wright struck out the struggling Pete Alonso before walking Michael Conforto, putting himself into another jam.
He responded by striking out Cano and J.D. Davis. The Braves scored twice in the bottom of the inning to give Wright a lead.
Continuing an early season trend, a Braves starter couldn't get through the fourth. Wright allowed hits to two of the three batters he faced to open the frame, prompting the Braves to make a change. Tyler Matzek, who's become an unexpected contributor, finished the inning with a groundout and strikeout.
Wright allowed five hits and walked five over his 3-1/3 innings. His five strikeouts helped the case, but like Toussaint on Saturday, he was living on the edge all afternoon, preventing him from pitching deeper into the game.
Mike Soroka and Max Fried are the only Braves starters to complete five innings this season. In the six games started by other pitchers, the starter hasn't gone beyond the fourth inning. While Toussaint and Wright did well enough to keep the team in it, the Braves will need their starters to go deeper, especially as rosters begin reducing later this week.
For now, the Braves can be satisfied with Toussaint's and Wright's messy but successful combined effort: 7-1/3 innings, no runs, eight hits, seven walks and 10 strikeouts.
