NEW YORK _ It seemed so fitting for the day. Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso, two of the Mets' prized young players, had learned they had been selected as All-Stars hours before Sunday's series finale.
And in the game, they showed why. Back to back, they saved the Mets, who had lost seven straight and were on life support (and still might be).
The spot was big and the stakes were high. There were two outs in the eighth inning and the bases were loaded. But the consistent McNeil, who always seems to one-up his last act, stepped up to the plate and flared a two-run knock into right off A.J. Minter to give the Mets a one-run lead.
The next batter, Alonso, doubled to left to score two more. Citi Field, which is full of fans who suffered through the last week, was loud. Alonso celebrated at second base as the crowd around him roared. The Mets started the eighth down two and left up three, thanks to McNeil, Alonso and Todd Frazier (who homered to lead off the inning).
The Mets beat the Braves, 8-5, to avoid a series sweep. They are still nine games under .500 and the schedule doesn't get easier, but the opposite outcome would have been ugly.
The five-run eighth also took the bullpen off the hook _ if only for a night.
On Sunday, Mets manager Mickey Callaway plugged in Chris Flexen, whom he said would probably receive more opportunity in high-leverage situations. Flexen got an out to escape a bases-loaded situation in a tie game in the sixth and all seemed well. But an inning later, something that feels like it happens every day occurred once more.
The Braves turned the game in three at-bats. Ronald Acna Jr. singled and Dansby Swanson doubled before Freddie Freeman brought both home with a double to left field. With the Mets down two runs, Flexen was yanked and, luckily for New York, Wilmer Font stranded Freeman.
Font tossed an important scoreless two innings, which allowed the Mets offense to have an opportunity to mount a comeback. The bats took advantage.
Noah Syndergaard, who on Sunday returned from a right hamstring strain, wasn't bad for a guy who has been on the injured list since June 16. He limited the damage throughout his outing, never letting it spiral.
When he allowed an RBI double to Josh Donaldson in the first inning, it looked like Syndergaard might not be in for a great night. When Acuna hit a ball 437 feet in the third, you wondered if Syndergaard would begin to unravel. But he never did.
He ran into trouble in the sixth, when Johan Camargo dropped in a game-tying single. He then loaded the bases before being pulled, but he was not charged with another run because Flexen got a big out.
The Mets offense punched back early on Sunday. J.D. Davis laced a game-tying single in the first inning. The Mets eventually took a one-run lead in the third with Frazier's RBI knock and Rosario's sacrifice fly.
The Mets had been so good this season in scoring runs late, but recently they had not had the same magic.
On Sunday, two of their three All-Star selections may have rediscovered it.
