NEW YORK — The Mets began their critical five-game series against a division foe with a sleepy loss, but they salvaged the evening with their ninth doubleheader split of the season.
Jeff McNeil extended his hit streak to 13 games — a career high — and gave his offense a needed spark with an RBI double in the fifth inning that wound up being the difference in the Mets’ 1-0 win over the Braves in Game 2 of a doubleheader on Monday. McNeil is batting .370 with seven runs, three doubles, a home run and 10 RBI in that span.
Edwin Diaz struck out the side and shut the door in the seventh and final inning to record saves on back-to-back days. The Mets closer dialed it up for 101 mph fastballs to whiff Dansby Swanson, Guillermo Heredia and Abraham Almonte. Diaz has successfully converted 22 of his 26 save opportunities this season, an encouraging sign after a trio of rough appearances this month.
The Mets’ (53-45) first-place division lead over the Braves (49-51) stayed put at five games after the doubleheader split. But Atlanta will look to chip away this week at Citi Field in what could end up being a decisive series for the two clubs.
The Mets lost to the Braves, 2-0, in Game 1 after the Mets offense stranded more men on base (6) than the number of hits (5) they collected. Mets bats couldn’t string together good at-bats against Atlanta left-hander Kyle Muller, as Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith combined to go 0-for-12 in the first game of their twin bill.
Marcus Stroman (7-9, 2.63 ERA) on Monday took his first-career loss in a start against the Braves after giving up two runs on six hits. Though he was able to limit the damage with a terrific bases-loaded escape on a double-play ball to end the third inning, Atlanta’s two runs buried any chance of a Mets comeback in the shortened, seven-inning game.
Despite Ronald Acuna Jr.’s season-ending ACL surgery, Travis d’Arnaud injuring his thumb and Marcell Ozuna getting arrested for domestic violence charges, the Braves made a couple of trades this month to help stay afloat.
Outfielder Joc Pederson and catcher Stephen Vogt joined Atlanta in July via the Cubs and Diamondbacks, respectively, and combined for a pair of hits against the Mets in Game 1 on Monday to help lift the offense. The Mets have gone 6-6 against Atlanta this year.
“They’re a good team, always,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said of the Braves. “They play good baseball. Now they have Joc Pederson, Stephen Vogt and Orlando Arcia, three guys that have been on different teams and played a lot of games. So they got some help. We know they lost Acuna, they lost Ozuna along the way who were an offensive force for them. But they went and acquired some guys. I think they still are a good hitting ball club. In seven innings, they had 10 hits. It’s a good team.”
