The Mets first losing skid is officially here after meltdown in Atlanta

New York loses their fourth straight after blowing game vs. Braves. Plus, more on how things never seem to change in Atlanta...

What’s up with the Mets? ⚾

• The Mets got walked-off by the Braves, losing 5-4 in 10 innings (box)

• New York had a 4-1 lead entering the 8th inning but allowed a two-out, three-run double to lose the lead before surrendering a walk-off sac fly in the 10th

• LHP David Peterson was excellent before losing steam at the end of his outing as he was charged with three runs on five hits over seven-plus innings

• RHP Reed Garrett blew the save after relieving Peterson in the 8th inning, allowing a three-run double to Marcell Ozuna with two outs

• RF Juan Soto went 2-for-3 with a home run (14) and a walk at the plate, but was doubled off first base on a critical play in the top of the 9th inning

• CF Tyrone Taylor went 2-for-3 with a home run (2) and three RBI in the loss

• 3B Ronny Mauricio went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and committed a throwing error

• The Mets have now lost four straight games, their longest losing streak of the 2025 season

---

Injury Updates 🏥

• RHP Tylor Megill (right elbow strain) was placed on the 15-day injured list – he will rest for 7-10 days and resume throwing when symptoms subside

• 3B Brett Baty (right groin tightness) was out of the lineup after injuring himself in Sunday’s game

---

Roster Moves 📰

• RHP Tylor Megill placed on the 15-day injured list

• RHP Justin Garza recalled from Triple-A Syracuse

---

---

Play of the Game ⭐️

After coming into the game with two on and nobody out, Reed Garrett quickly found himself in a bases loaded jam with zero margin for error.

To Reed’s credit he was able to retire the next two batters without allowing a run, giving him a clear pathway to getting out of trouble and (likely) carrying the Mets to a bounce back victory. After Marcell Ozuna somehow managed to foul off a nasty offspeed pitch with two strikes, he got a splitter on the inside part of the plate that he was able to turn on and rip down the left field line.

All three runners scored, the game was tied, and the Mets never recovered.

---

Down on the Farm 🌾

• SS Jett Williams (No. 1 prospect, Double-A): 3-for-4, 2B, BB, 2 runs scored

• CF Nick Morabito (No. 16 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-5, 3 RBI

• LHP Brooks Raley (rehab, Low-A): IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

BOX SCORES

Low-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR

---

Today’s Game 🗓️

Match-up: Mets (45-28) at Braves (31-39)

Where: Truist Park — Atlanta, GA

Starters: RHP Paul Blackburn (0-0, 6.75 ERA) vs. LHP Chris Sale (4-4, 2.79 ERA)

When: 7:15 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

---

Some things never change… ✍️

I thought the Mets were past this.

After winning an epic back-and-forth contest on the season’s final day last September with a postseason spot on the line, it seemed after if this franchise had finally solved their Atlanta demons.

Coming into this game — the first match-up between the teams this season — you felt confident despite the fact that the Mets had lost three straight games over the weekend. New York was 18 games over .500, after all, while the Braves have been a mess for the entire season, struggling to get out of their own way as they were nine games under .500 and 13 games behind the Mets in the standings.

Through seven innings it was tough to feel any different with David Peterson shoving yet again and the Mets holding what felt like a safe and easy 4-1 lead.

And then you blinked.

What had been a ho-hum game turned into an all-too familiar nightmare for the Mets as seemingly every possible facet of the game broke down for them over the final three innings of this game.

A questionable decision by the manager: leaving Peterson out there for too long without having anyone warming up behind him.

Poor pitching execution: Francisco Álvarez shaking off Reed Garrett’s pitch selection and changing it to a splitter, which was ripped into left field for a two-out, game-tying three-run double.

Bad base running: Juan Soto was doubled off first base on a leaping catch by Ronald Acuña Jr. in a tie game in the top of the 9th (and blamed the umpires after the game for making their call too slowly).

Another questionable decision by the manager: Allowing Jared Young to bat to lead-off the 10th inning rather than pinch hit with Starling Marte or trying to get a bunt down.

Terrible situational hitting: The trio of Jared Young, Francisco Álvarez and Ronny Mauricio not only went 0-for-3 at the plate in the 10th, but they weren’t even capable of moving the free runner beyond second base vs. a closer in Raisel Iglesias who has been horrible this season (6.23 ERA, 5.22 FIP, -0.5 fWAR).

Sloppy defense: Francisco Álvarez (he’s on here a lot, you’ll notice) not only continued his sloppy blocking on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th, but had a chance to make up for it on the ricochet by gunning down a runner that was hung up between the bases. Álvarez had a chance after the ball bounced back to him to gun down the runner between second and third had he run him back to the base a bit. Instead, he inexplicably threw behind the runner immediately, allowing everyone to advance safely.

Combine all of those critical mistakes into an unbelievably frustrating 30-40 minute span, and you’ve got yourself the worst loss of the season thanks to a walk-off sacrifice fly.

This loss was far, far too familiar for Mets fans who were just starting to get over their Braves PTSD at the end of last season. And for it to happen in this situation – in the teams’ first match-up of the year, with such a huge gap in records and with the Mets having lost three straight games entering the night – only makes it more of that typical hair-pulling Atlanta defeat.

What’s worse than anything for New York is the timing of it all. This team has not only lost three straight games but has seen their rotation take major hits in the last week, losing Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill to injuries and seeing regression out of Paul Blackburn and Griffin Canning. On a night where they got their first stellar start since David Peterson’s last outing, it’s a real tough pill to swallow that this wasn’t even one that they could mark down as a win.

Now, the Mets face their first legitimate losing streak of the season with vibes that aren’t sitting quite well for those who are easily queasy. This team will not only have to figure some things out (and soon) all around, but is once again left to try and pick up the pieces after a meltdown in Atlanta.

For what it’s worth, the vibe in the clubhouse during the postgame interviews that aired after the game seemed about as deflated and dour as we’ve seen all season long. You hope it’s something this team can bounce back from – as they did so many times in 2024 – but it’s the first time that this year’s team has really gotten punched in the mouth like that.

You know, half-way through this game I was debating between the subject of today’s newsletter being about Juan Soto being the newest Braves killer or how the Mets didn’t have to look over their shoulders at the Braves for once this year. Clearly that was foolish of me, as this house of horrors had yet another chapter in store for us.

I know the song tells us that the devil went down to Georgia but I’m still never quite ready for the Braves to unleash their black magic on the Mets, despite the fact that it seems to happen time after time after time.

I guess it’s hard to make change stick. The Mets will have to figure it out sooner or later, though, or else it’ll come back to bite them as it often has before.

---

Around the League 🚩

• The Phillies benched OF Nick Castellanos after “inappropriate” comments as Philadelphia lost to the Marlins, 8-3

• The Yankees were shutout for the third straight game, falling to the Angels by a 4-0 score

• Tigers SS Javier Báez hit a pair of home runs in the club’s 7-3 win vs. the Pirates

• The Nationals lost their 10th straight game as they were beat up by the Rockies, 10-6