Braves Fall Short Against Mets in Nail-Biter

ATLANTA — Huascar Brazoban’s struggles almost spelled disaster for the Mets on Sunday. His rough outing seemed poised to hand the Braves an easy victory.

But then Devin Williams stepped in to secure the final two outs in the ninth, and somehow, the Mets clinched a thrilling 10-9 win over the Braves.

Starting the day with an impressive 1.94 ERA, Brazoban took the mound with a seven-run cushion. However, things unraveled quickly as he surrendered five unearned runs, highlighted by a grand slam from Drake Baldwin.

Having not pitched in eight days, it’s possible that a bit of rust played a role in his performance.

Interim manager Andy Green commented on Brazoban’s season, noting, “There are waves of use throughout the season, so our players will be used quite a bit.” He emphasized that Brazoban has been heavily relied upon, which could be affecting his consistency.

During the ninth, Brazoban gave up four hits and a walk, plus he made a throwing error on a pickoff attempt, leading to Mauricio Dubon’s score. Baldwin’s grand slam marked the first home run Brazoban had surrendered since June 2.

“He’s been unbelievable for us all year long,” Green remarked. “His ERA is [3.00] after what just happened. That says a lot about how good he’s been for us all year, but it wasn’t his turn that day.”

Williams entered with the Mets ahead 10-8 and managed to strike out Ozzie Albies with two outs. However, a double from Matt Olson and an RBI from Michael Harris II kept the pressure on. Dubon’s single advanced the runners, but Williams eventually struck out Dominique Smith to close the game.

The Mets’ victory was also bolstered by Brooks Lally and Luke Weaver, both of whom pitched shutout innings, with Weaver extending his scoreless streak to an incredible 25 innings for the first time since May 1.

“There’s a lot to take away from this game,” Green said. “We’re going to take the good out of it.”