Braves crush Mets to save series as offense shows signs of life

On Sunday, Atlanta won 9-2, leaving New York on a positive note.

Well, aside from this major negative: Reynaldo López left the field after three innings with forearm tightness. Even though the Braves had two good days, they still had to get some bad news.

The Braves now travel to Milwaukee for three games.

Five observations:

1. For a game against left-handed David Peterson, Braves manager Brian Snitker built his lineup with right-handers. Adam Duvall hit first. Travis d’Arnaud, Ramón Laureano, Nacho Alvarez Jr., Orlando Arcia and Luke Williams rounded out the group after Matt Olson, who was the only left-handed hitter in the order.

This lineup doesn’t compare to some of the powerful batting orders the Braves have fielded over the past two seasons.

So, of course, that lineup scored nine runs against the Mets — Atlanta’s most prolific game since June 15, when the club scored nine runs against the Rays.

“I like the way the guys took charge today,” Snitker said. “They lost their starter and they came out, and everybody stepped up, pretty much. The bullpen guys. The offense kind of took charge and got their guy back. It was a good win for our team.”

In a four-run fourth inning, Matt Olson hit a three-run home run into the upper deck in right field off Peterson — Olson’s second home run in as many days. The Braves hit three more home runs to bury the Mets, who had won five straight before the Braves beat them Saturday.

It’s the kind of blow the Braves needed after a six-game losing streak.

“Yeah, it’s good,” Snitker said. “Maybe we breathe some life into this offense, which would be really good.”

2. Lopez, whose last four-seam fastball hit 97.4 mph, showed no signs of injury. But such is the 2024 season for the Braves. Bad news is always around the corner when it comes to injuries.

The Braves sent Lopez back to Atlanta for an MRI before the game even ended. The club did so in hopes of getting some good news from its All-Star starter, who has been a revelation after spending a few years as a reliever.

“Yeah, you know, it sucks,” Matt Olson said. “I hope for the best. He’s obviously been a big part of what we’ve done this year and he’s been a horse for us. It sucks. It feels like every week or two we get bad news, so I really hope for the best here.”

Lopez looked out of sorts during three scoreless innings, but he never gave any indication he was hurt, so it was a surprise to see Dylan Lee warming up in the bullpen in the top of the fourth.

Snitker said he didn’t know when Lopez began feeling tightness in his forearm.

“I just know what inning he came out, (Marcell) Ozuna said he was down there in the tunnel,” Snitker said. “I’m glad (López) said something. We don’t know any of that until we get the pictures.”

3. Before the series finale against Cincinnati, Olson had hit .149 in his previous 31 games, with just two home runs.

It’s, uh, heating up.

Over his last five games, including Sunday’s, he has hit 7 of 20, hit two home runs and driven in four runs. That streak includes two consecutive multi-hit games.

“I’m going to continue to work on getting consistent at-bats every time, but seeing results is a good thing,” Olson said. “Contributing, helping the team win is always going to be a plus, and something that keeps you going.”

4. From the middle of Friday’s game through the eighth inning Sunday, Braves pitchers combined for 20 scoreless innings. They shut out the Mets on Saturday and nearly did it again in the finale.

“They’ve been great all year,” Olson said. “There’s very few games where they’ve gotten beat. They’ve kept us in it every game, that’s what I feel like. I can’t say enough about what they’ve done. They’ve definitely saved the offense here and there. We’re trying to get back at them.”

The Braves listed Grant Holmes as the starter for Monday’s series opener at Milwaukee. Holmes has been a part of their bullpen, but five of his 10 appearances have lasted three innings or more. (He pitched 3 1/3 innings once.) And in Triple-A before Atlanta called him up, he was on a long list.

“I don’t know how far he’ll let us take him, but he’s been tested and he’s even had all the multiples here, like three-plus innings and things like that,” Snitker said. “So I’m pretty happy he shortened the game for us.”

5. On Friday, the Mets bolstered their bullpen by acquiring Ryne Stanek from the Mariners. And on Sunday, he left the field to boos from the home crowd.

The Braves pulverized him.

Orlando Arcia greeted Stanek with a home run on his third pitch. Stanek hit Duvall with his sixth pitch. Riley sent his seventh pitch into the seats for a two-run home run.

Seven throws, three points.

In the eighth inning, Ramón Laureano threw a two-run hitter off another reliever. It gave the Braves a 9-0 lead. It also gave Laureano some redemption — he also struck out a runner — after Thursday’s rough 10th inning.

Perhaps the latest offensive performances represent some momentum?

“We’ll see,” Snitker said. “I’ll let you know in about ten days.”

Statistics to know

2.06 – Lopez leads all qualified starting pitchers with a 2.06 earned run average.

Quotable

“The pitching was excellent. I felt like we could have easily won three of the four games in that series.” -Snitker

Following

Grant Holmes will start for the Braves in Monday’s series opener against right-hander Colin Rea and the Brewers. First pitch is at 8:10 p.m.