ATLANTA _ If it's possible to have a must-win game in June, this one felt like it fit for the Mets. It seemed like they thought so, too, because they delivered a blowout like the one Atlanta handed to them on Monday.
The Mets drilled the Braves, 10-2, on Tuesday at SunTrust Park, where Pete Alonso and Jacob deGrom starred. Perhaps this taste of success will boost morale and lead to something else. Maybe it is just another event in the cycle of inconsistency for New York this season.
Alonso hit doubles in his first two at-bats _ one drove in a run _ and blasted a two-run home run in his third as he eventually notched his first career four-hit game. He finished 4 for 4 with three RBIs and two walks.
With 10 strikeouts over 8 1/3 innings, DeGrom tallied his fourth double-digit strikeout game of the season, the 36th of his career. He allowed back-to-back solo shots to Freddie Freeman and Josh Donaldson in the ninth inning, and while those ended his night, they were unimportant because the game was basically over by that point.
The Mets, now 35-38, needed this after Monday's blowout. Their situation perhaps looked as bleak as the forecast _ thunderstorms were projected _ because the Braves had won 10 of 11. Plus, Atlanta sent Julio Teheran to the mound, and he came into this one having posted a 2.35 over 26 games against the Mets.
Led by Alonso, New York tagged Teheran for six runs over four innings. Four were scored in the third. After Alonso drove in a run, Michael Conforto doubled another home. One more scored on a groundout before Amed Rosario punctuated the explosive frame with an RBI single.
DeGrom, meanwhile, kept dealing. With a strikeout of Dansby Swanson in the fourth inning, the righty jumped up to seventh on the Mets' all-time strikeout list.
Knocking out Teheran early could also give New York an advantage in Wednesday's series finale because the Braves' bullpen had to piece together a game that already looked to be out of hand _ though you never really know with this Mets bullpen.
Speaking of, there was a shake-up before the game. The Mets placed Jeurys Familia on the injured list with a Bennett lesion, which is like a bone spur. They also demoted Drew Gagnon to Triple-A Syracuse. It remains to be seen whether those moves will bolster the bullpen, but on Tuesday, New York didn't have to find out.
Mets manager Mickey Callaway also announced that outfielder Brandon Nimmo would be shut down for a month.
The offense kept adding to the lead. The Mets scored two in the sixth before Conforto left the yard in the eighth to make it 9-0. For good measure, Jeff McNeil sent a solo shot into the seats in the ninth.
Tacking on runs is something New York has struggled with at times this season, so even if the insurance didn't matter on Tuesday, it was still encouraging. The Braves used three relievers after Teheran exited.
Up and down, up and down. It's been the theme for the 2019 Mets.
The Mets haven't been able to find any consistency this season. They've had a few different low points, and Monday felt so brutal that it seemed like it could have snowballed into a situation much worse. But they showed some fight a day later as they look to stay afloat.
