The Mets held a 2-1 lead after eight innings, but an Edwin Diaz blown save and a rough 10th inning gave the Braves a 5-3 win. > Box score
Six things to know from Saturday’s game...
1. In a one-run game in the ninth inning, Edwin Diaz was one strike away from recording his second save in two days. With two outs and a full count, Marcell Ozuna hit a solo home run to right field off a 98 MPH fastball, completely changing the narrative on the Mets' closer through his first two games.
In the bottom of the ninth, Michael Conforto ripped a one-out single to right, followed by a single from Amed Rosario. That set the stage for Jeff McNeil, but he grounded out to end the threat.
In the top of the 10th, with a runner on second to start the inning, Dansby Swanson hit a leadoff RBI single off Hunter Strickland to give the Braves the lead. Things snowballed from there, as Strickland allowed two more runs to give the Braves a 5-2 lead.
The Mets loaded the bases with no one out in the bottom of the tenth, and Dominic Smith added a sac fly RBI, but the Mets weren't able to push any more runs across.
2. Steven Matz, featuring a revamped curveball, looked very good on Saturday. He allowed a solo home run to Adam Duvall in the second, but other than that, he looked very sharp. Matz struck out seven batters, including striking out the side in the sixth inning. His day came to an end after six innings, allowing one run on just two hits.
3. The Mets were held hitless through the first 4.1 innings, until Conforto, hitting out of the seventh hole, slashed a double to left-center. The next hitter, Rosario, followed suit with a ball in the gap and turned on the jets to stretch out a triple, tying the game at 1-1. Next up, Jeff McNeil tagged a deep fly ball to left for a sac fly, giving the Mets the 2-1 lead.
4. After Matz’s six strong innings of work, Jeurys Familia came on to pitch the seventh, and he made easy work of the Braves, needing just nine pitches to retire the side in order.
In the eighth, Dellin Betances made his Mets debut. After striking out Dansby Swanson and forcing a Johan Camargo ground out, Betances allowed a single to Austin Riley before Luis Rojas went to Justin Wilson. After a Matt Adams single put runners on the corners with two outs, Wilson got a huge strikeout of Ronald Acuna Jr. to end the threat and maintain the lead.
5. A day after his Opening Day heroics, Yoenis Cespedes was once again back in the lineup as the DH, batting clean-up. The slugger struck out in his first three at-bats, but was able to poke a single into center in the eighth. He was later removed for a pinch-runner.
6. Pete Alonso recorded his first hit of the season in the 10th inning, lining a single to center field. Alonso did also strike out three times, and now has four punch-outs in two games.
What’s next?
The Mets and Braves will finish their three-game set on Sunday Night Baseball. Rick Porcello will face lefty Sean Newcomb with first pitch set for 7:08 pm.
