The Mets powered their way to a 7-3 win over the Braves in Atlanta on Wednesday to prevail, 2-1, in an important series and push their lead in the NL East to 2 ½ games.
Here are the takeaways...
1) Talk about turning the tables: Coming into the day the Mets had hit 50 fewer home runs than the Braves, who lead the National League with 136, but on this day the NL East leaders flexed their power muscles, going deep three times against Charlie Morton in building a 5-1 lead after six innings.
Francisco Lindor had the big one -- a three-run bomb to right field in the third inning -- while Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha had solo shots in the second and sixth innings, respectively.
All this on a day when Buck Showalter had Luis Guillorme hitting cleanup for the first time in his career, seemingly a statement on the Mets’ need for power or at least an imposing hitter to give Pete Alonso some protection in the lineup.
Instead, the Mets raised their season total of home runs to 89 with their three long balls, though they were still out-homered 6-4 by the Braves in the series.
Guillorme, by the way, did deliver an opposite-field RBI double in the seventh inning, and he continues to play a key role offensively, hitting .308.
2) Though the Mets’ power stood out in the win on Wednesday, their patience at the plate was a theme in the series that is worth noting as a significant difference between them and the Braves.
That patience was important in running up the pitch counts on each of the Braves’ starting pitchers, Max Fried, Spencer Strider, and Morton, as none of them went more than five innings in their starts.
It was in contrast to the Braves’ approach, which borders on all-or-nothing this season. They lead the NL in home runs but also in strikeouts with 839. This series, all eight of the runs they scored were produced by long balls.
The Mets, meanwhile, have struck out 674 times, the second-lowest total in the NL. So even without Starling Marte and Jeff McNeil, New York outscored the Braves, 12-8, in the series.
3) Mets’ starting pitching mostly dominated the Braves’ lineup in the series. Max Scherzer, David Peterson, and Chris Bassitt combined to go 18 1/3 innings while allowing four runs, an ERA of 1.96.
As such, it seems Bassitt has regained his status as very dependable starter with a fifth straight solid-to-strong start since his rough patch in late May/early June.
The right-hander held the Braves to one run over six innings, doing it in his usual fashion, keeping hitters off balance by mixing a 93-94 mph fastball with an assortment of off-speed pitches, including his tantalizing 70 mph slow curve.