NEW YORK _ The Mets have seemed magical over this run, each moment appearing to top the last. They've been able to win close games, the kind they were losing for the first couple of months.
The Braves continue to stay a step ahead, though. They've provided the largest challenge for the hot Mets, who cannot seem to crack the National League East's top team.
Atlanta, which took two of three from the Mets last week, clinched another series victory with a 9-5 win on Saturday at Citi Field. The Mets have cleaned up their play over the second half, but their latest loss _ their second in a row _ provided a flashback to the ugly days.
In a tie game in the top of the eighth, the Mets had one of those plays. The ones you were accustomed to seeing before the All-Star break.
Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a routine single off Brad Brach into left field. J.D. Davis ranged over, fielded it and turned. But he pump-faked the throw. A run had scored and Billy Hamilton, who was at first, ended up and third.
But then as Davis lobbed the ball to Amed Rosario, Hamilton took off and scored to give the Braves a two-run lead. Initially, it seems unclear what Davis saw from his perspective, and it was surprising because he's played a great left field.
In the sixth, right after Pete Alonso gave the Mets a lead and tied their single-season franchise record with his 41st homer, Todd Frazier committed a fielding error that allowed the tying run to score.
The Mets were not clean on the bases, either.
Their largest missed opportunity came in the bottom of the seventh, when they looked poised to take a lead but tripped over themselves. Jeff McNeil, in his first at-bat since injuring his hamstring, led off the inning with a pinch-hit double. However, he was thrown out trying to advance to third on a grounder, and then Amed Rosario was later caught stealing.
The Mets ended with nothing. What seemed strange was that they had Rosario _ who already notched an RBI single earlier in the game _ try to bunt after McNeil doubled.
New York entered the top of the ninth trailing by two runs. Edwin Diaz, who escaped a jam on Friday that could have heightened his confidence, toed the rubber. But once again, he showed he is not fixed as he gave up a solo homer to Freddie Freeman.
After Diaz faced three batters, Mets manager Mickey Callaway and an athletic trainer went out to check on him. Diaz left the game with an apparent injury, and Chris Flexen entered. Francisco Cervelli, playing in his first game with the Braves, hit his second RBI double of the night to give Atlanta a four-run advantage.
The Mets, undone by their sloppiness, did not have a magical comeback in them. They are still five games over .500, but are left looking to salvage a series on Sunday.
The weird part is this: The Mets had all the momentum at one point.
With Alonso's record-tying homer off Max Fried, the Mets had officially erased a four-run deficit they incurred because Zack Wheeler was not sharp. They were up a run, with their crowd going nuts.
It did not last.
In his first at-bat with the Braves, Cervelli smoked a two-run double off Wheeler in the second inning. Ozzie Albies and Josh Donaldson each launched homers an inning later.
As they have throughout this run, the Mets clawed back. Their first run scored on a Joe Panik groundout, and the next crossed when Rosario laced an RBI single as the latest example of his impressive performance out of the leadoff spot.
New York had won in different ways in the last few weeks. But Atlanta continues to prove it is the team the beat in this division. The Braves outlasted the home nine in 14 innings on Friday, then pulled away late on Saturday. The Mets feel they can play with anyone, but for some reason, they just haven't been able to solve the Braves.
When Saturday reached its late stages, the Mets folded. It seemed uncharacteristic because they have been so poised, so clutch over the last month.
