Mets Struggle with Another Loss to Braves

At last, the Mets managed to secure a decent start. Their offense provided what should have been a solid lead for the bullpen.

But that didn’t hold up. Anything that goes wrong seems to snowball for this team.

Kodai Senga and Francisco Lindor delivered strong performances.

Unfortunately, Ryan Healthley, one of the key players acquired around the trade deadline, struggled. He gave up two runs in the eighth inning during yet another disappointing loss to the Braves.

Fans expressed their frustration, booing Healthley after he allowed doubles that scored runs for Michael Harris and Ozzy Albies.

The Mets have now lost five straight series, following what feels like ages since their seven-game winning streak. They’re clinging to just a half-game lead over the Reds for the final NL wildcard spot.

Senga seemed to regain his form, allowing only two runs across 5²/₃ innings. It was actually the longest outing by a Mets starter in over a week. Lindor had a solid night, getting three hits and helping the team to a lead in the sixth inning.

On the same evening, he was highlighted as a standout for the Mets, as Pete Alonso managed to bring in a go-ahead run with a two-out single.

After a clean sweep against the Giants at the end of July, it was a setup that seemed to favor the Mets for winning this series for the first time in a while.

However, Healthley, who had shown promise in four of his six outings, opened the eighth inning by walking Marcel Ozuna.

Then he threw a slider that Harris easily connected with. Albies followed with a double that hit off the right wall.

In the bottom half of that inning, Lindor reached base with an infield single, but ultimately, he was stranded.

To make matters worse, Senga couldn’t complete six innings but kept the Mets in contention, allowing seven hits but only two runs, throwing 93 pitches.

The real issue lay in the Mets’ offense, which struggled against Elder Blythe, a pitcher who came in with a 6.12 ERA over the preceding 15¹/³ innings.

In the first five innings, the only notable contribution from the Mets was a home run from Lindor.

Finally, in the sixth inning, Lindor managed to get on base again with a single, stole second, and reached third thanks to a slow error by catcher Drake Baldwin.

Brandon Nimmo then drove him in with a sacrifice fly, and Alonso added another run with a two-out single, sending Citifield into a brief frenzy.

But, of course, that excitement was short-lived. These days, there’s not much to feel good about when it comes to the Mets.