The Mets exploded for seven runs in the third inning and defeated the Atlanta Braves 8-4 on Friday night at Citi Field, thereby overtaking the Braves in the standings for the first Wild Card spot in the National League.

The Mets have won five straight games while the Braves have lost six straight. The Mets are a season-high seven games over .500 and they’re 31-13 since June 2.

Here are the Top Takeaways from the win:

1)Kodai Senga seemed to be putting the finishing touches on a brilliant debut to his injury-delayed season when he injured his left calf while getting out of the way for Pete Alonso to catch a pop-up near the mound in the sixth inning.

Senga grabbed for his leg and then went down to the ground. After a couple of minutes, he got up on his own and limped off the field, into the dugout to cheers from the Citi Field crowd.

The Mets later announced that Senga suffered a left calf strain.

The Japanese star, whose season was delayed by a shoulder capsule injury, dominated the Braves during his 5 1/3 innings, racking up nine strikeouts. He gave up only two hits, both in the second inning: a line single to left by Travis d’Arnaud and then a home run by Adam Duvall on a hanging cutter.

2)The Mets flexed their home run muscles for seven runs in the third to knock out long-time nemesis Charlie Morton, on the strength of home runs by J.D. Martinez, Mark Vientos, and Francisco Alvarez.

Martinez changed the complexion of the game with a grand slam to right field, giving the Mets a 4-2 lead. After Jeff McNeil stayed hot with a double to right-center, Vientos crushed a hanging curveball to left to make the lead 6-2, and Alvarez capped the home run barrage with a blast to left off a changeup.

The three home runs had the big Citi Field crowd going bananas, and it stayed very loud until Senga went down with his injury.

Both Martinez and Alvarez had been slumping of late. Alvarez was in a 1-for-16 rut when he went deep.

3)Martinez had the biggest offensive night, going 3-for-4 with the four RBI from the grand slam, and he needed it.

He’s been slumping for weeks and most recently was hitting .162 in his last 10 games, with a .189 slugging percentage and a .409 OPS. The slam was his first home run since July 1^st, and his 11^th of the season.

4)Rookie Eric Orze finally has an ERA. Orze was called up a few weeks ago and pitched in one game in Pittsburgh, failing to get an out in his only appearance before being sent back to the minors.

He was called up Friday to replace the injured Dedniel Nunez on the roster, came into the game after Senga’s calf injury and promptly gave up a home run to Marcell Ozuna. After walking Matt Olson, he finally recorded an out when he got d’Arnaud to fly out to right and went on to pitch 1.2 innings without further damage. Thus he has an ERA of 21.60.

5)Jose Iglesias made a diving stab going to his left at second base to rob Eddie Rosario of a single and short-circuit a potential eighth-inning rally by Atlanta. The Braves had put two runners on with two outs against Adam Ottavino but Iglesias’ spectacular play essentially secured the Mets’ win.

GAME MVP: J.D. MARTINEZ

His grand slam in the third inning was the pivotal moment in the game, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 lead and setting the tone for the big inning that produced seven runs.

Martinez had been slumping but the home run was a reminder of what he can do, as he took a down-and-way fastball from Morton and took it to right field, which he does when he’s at his best, over the fence for the home run.

Here are the Top Takeaways from the win:

GAME MVP: J.D. MARTINEZ

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