ATLANTA — Adrian Houser stopped the dangerous Braves lineup from delivering an early knockout punch Tuesday, but simply keeping the ball in play wasn’t always successful.
At one point, Hauser had six consecutive hits, all singles.
The Braves built a cushion early that was too big for the Mets to overcome, whose modest two-game winning streak ended with a 6-5 loss at Trust Park.
“I was off from the beginning,” said Hauser, who pitched five innings and allowed five earned runs on eight hits and two walks. “He didn’t have much command or greatness overall, so there wasn’t much to be gained from this expedition.”
Pete Alonso hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning, cutting the lead in half and giving the Mets momentum.
The Mets added two runs in the ninth inning against Raisel Iglesias, and the Braves’ closer struck out Alonso to end the game.
The Mets overcame a four-point deficit the night before with a thrilling 8-7 victory, but this time they fell one hit short.
Omar Narváez hit an RBI double in the ninth inning, giving hope for the Mets to score another run.
Close, but not quite — the tying run After Starling Marte grounded out to bring in Narváez, Francisco Lindor was left stranded with Alonso at first base.
“I thought we had some good at-bats, especially towards the end of the game, to get our closers and our high-end relievers out,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I thought it was a battle the whole game. To put Pete in for the go-ahead run in the ninth inning after being taken out early says a lot about this team.”
Ronald Acuña Jr. went 3-for-3 with steals against Narvaez and continues that trend. Overall, opponents have a 21-21 steal rate against the Mets this season.
“We’ve played against some teams with elite speed, but here we play against one of the best base stealers in the game in Acuña. They’ll continue to be aggressive,” Mendoza said. Ta. “We’ll continue to work on it and continue to have conversations about it, but I’m not worried.”
The Mets’ starting pitcher was mostly out for two consecutive games.
Hauser’s misfire followed Julio Teheran’s abbreviated start the night before, with the right-handed pitcher leaving after allowing four earned runs in 2/3 innings.
But Hauser made it through at least five innings and didn’t overload the overloaded bullpen. That included relief pitcher Dedonil Nunez’s major league debut.
The right-handed pitcher pitched two innings, allowing the Braves the winning run in the sixth inning on Ozzie Albies’ RBI grounder.
“I knew the bullpen was going to be bad today, so I tried to go as long as possible,” Hauser said. “I was trying to eat as much as I could.”
Hauser threw 26 pitches in the first inning, allowing one run on Albee’s RBI double.
The Mets got a break when Jeff McNeil caught Matt Olson’s line drive and started a double play with no outs on first and second base.
The Braves hit Hauser with six consecutive singles in the third inning, scoring three runs and taking a 4-0 lead.
Jumping on Hauser early in the count, Acuña, Albies, Austin Riley, Olson, Marcell Ozuna and Michael Harris II had back-to-back singles.
Hauser eventually got an out on Orlando Arcia’s grounder, which Alonso gloved and nailed Olson. The next batter, Travis d’Arnaud, grounded out into an inning-ending double play.
Acuña gave up a walk in the fourth inning, then stole second and third, then Riley hit an RBI single against Hauser to put the Mets up 5-0.
Harrison Bader was too aggressive on the bases in the third inning and was easily thrown while trying to convert a single into a double from the inning.
Reynaldo López walked Alonso and DJ Stewart in the fourth inning, but got away with the final out by retiring McNeil.
The Mets started in the eighth inning when Brett Batty reached on an error, Tyrone Taylor singled, and then Alonso went over the left field fence.
“The guys that were fighting back there and trying to pick me up were big,” Hauser said. “I didn’t put the team in a good position in the final minutes of the game, but they kept fighting until the end and gave us shots. So I couldn’t be more proud of them in that regard. Can not.”
