Thriller in Atlanta! Mets power up and rally to beat the Braves

Brandon Nimmo broke out with two home runs, and DJ Stewart hit the decisive homer in the eighth inning to help New York to their fourth win in five games

Michael Baron

Apr 09, 2024

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

The Mets came from behind to beat the Braves 8-7 in Atlanta on Monday night (Box)
Brandon Nimmo broke out of his slump and delivered a 4-for-4 night - he had two home runs and five RBI, including a game-tying three-run home run in the fifth inning against Charlie Morton and another game-tying homer in the seventh
DJ Stewart put the Mets ahead for good with a two-run home run in the eighth
Brett Baty had another big night at the plate, going 3-for-5 with an important run scored
Julio Teheran made his Mets debut on the mound and while it started well for him, he fell apart in the third inning after allowing four runs
Reed Garrett gave the Mets another strong effort out of the bullpen, delivering 2.1 IP of scoreless relief of Teheran
A tired Mets bullpen allowed just three runs in 6.1 IP on Monday night, but had to stave off a late surge from the Braves in the ninth to nail down the win - Jorge López earned his first save for the Mets

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Roster Moves 🗞️

RHP Cole Sulser selected from Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Yohan Ramirez designated for assignment

Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (4-6) vs. Braves (6-3)

Where: Truist Park - Atlanta, GA

Starters: RHP Adrian Houser (0-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. RHP Reynaldo López (0-0, 1.50 ERA)

When: 7:20 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

A big and important day for Brandon Nimmo, DJ Stewart and the Mets… ✍️

It’s been a long while since the Mets had a win like that.

In fact, I can’t think of any one moment in 2023 that resembled a victory like the Mets put together on Monday night in Atlanta.

Maybe it was the fact it was the Braves, and that ballpark and the cold bucket of water that club always seems to have at the ready for the Mets. And for a while, especially at the beginning and at the end, it sure seemed like the Braves were ready to dump everything they had on the Mets dugout yet again.

But it wasn’t to be for the mighty Braves on this day, for it was the Mets, at least for a single evening, who had the cold bucket of water to pour on the Braves.

It didn’t start out well, of course. Because, why would it? This is Atlanta.

Julio Teheran did come out of the gate strong for the Mets but he faded really quickly in the third inning, forcing Mets manager Carlos Mendoza to go to his already spent bullpen in the third. It was the right choice - Teheran was through as he was missing badly on his arm side and against that lineup, falling behind batters is the most lethal of self-induced problems a pitcher can create.

So, Mendoza wisely went to Reed Garrett who, by the way, has been nothing but awesome for the Mets so far this season.

On this day, it would be Brandon Nimmo to dump the first cold bucket of water on the Braves after being iced himself over the season’s first nine games. He entered the day mired in a 3-for-29 skid to start the year, but to be fair, there were encouraging signs coming in and quite a bit of bad luck built into that slump. He had begun to draw more walks, looking like the Nimmo of old and had a .143 average on balls in play, which might indicate better outcomes were ahead for him.

And oh boy, they were.

He clocked a three-run homer against Charlie Morton in the fifth inning to surprisingly tie this game up at four, giving the Mets hope on what had already looked like another hopeless night in Atlanta.

It would be up to Nimmo again in the seventh after Cole Sulser allowed a run in the sixth, and he took care of business with a bomb to center to tie the game at five. All-in-all, Nimmo tallied four hits and five RBI to finally get his season started at the plate as he would push the all-important insurance run across with a hard-hit single to center in the eighth.

Even so, Nimmo’s surge wasn’t enough. After all, the Braves are the Braves and no lead is safe against that juggernaut. Ever.

The Mets needed another hero on the night to get them across the finish line, and that title fell into the hands of DJ Stewart, who demolished a cement mixer of a slider into the water in center field for a massive two-run home run in the eighth inning.

For Stewart, it couldn’t have come at a better time. He had entered play hitless in his first 16 plate appearances of the season with six strikeouts. He had been generally non-competitive in large measure with JD Martínez breathing down his neck in the minors, but he woke up at the time the Mets needed him to last night and was an integral part of this big win for the Mets.

That would be all the Mets needed although it got a little crazy in the ninth with Mendoza resting Edwin Díaz. He asked Jorge López to get the final three outs and it was far from easy. But in the end, wins are wins and this was a big one for the Mets.

Back to Garrett for a moment…

He was a critical and widely under-discussed hero for the Mets on Monday. It was his second shutdown long relief outing of the season already which has helped lead the club to wins. He is doing exactly what he’s supposed to be doing in his role, which is closing the valve down and giving the Mets time to cleanup the mess. It’s a small sample of course but he’s shown elite fastball velocity with great spin and a quality sweeper to help get him through these outings.

He truly earned the save above anyone else last night, came in while trailing by four and left with the game tied.

Like I said at the jump, I don’t remember the Mets experiencing this kind of win in 2023. It was a fun and refreshing brand of baseball on display from this club on Monday, showing the kind of grit and determination winning clubs have, especially against what is indisputably one of the league’s best clubs and in a city this franchise hasn’t exactly been very successful in over the last 30 years or so. The Mets were just 3-10 against Atlanta in 2023 and again, largely non-competitive in the process as well.

It’s these kinds of wins that can help gel clubs together for the long haul, especially after this first week which has been, in large measure, a mess for this team offensively and in the field.

Sure, its only one game and they have three more in Atlanta before this road trip concludes, but perhaps this will be a date the Mets can circle on the calendar with a smiley face and look back on as a key date for the development of their identity in 2024.

Around the League 🚩

Anthony Volpe and Juan Soto homered as the Yankees blanked the Marlins 7-0 in the Bronx on Monday
Elly De La Cruz homered twice as the Reds muscled their way to a 10-8 win over the Brewers in Cincinnati
Anthony Rendon and Mike Trout each put together three-hit nights as the Angels continued their strong start to the season with a 7-1 over the Rays in SoCal
Shohei Ohtani doubled and homered in the Dodgers 4-2 win over the Twins in Minneapolis
Framber Valdez was scratched from his start for the Astros with elbow soreness (Athletic)