It felt like it would never end.
After the Braves jumped out to an early lead on a two-run homer by Adam Duvall in the second inning, the Mets put up a stellar performance in the third inning, scoring seven runs on three home runs.
The explosive inning led the Mets to an 8-4 victory over their NL East rivals, propelling them into second place in the division and the first wild card spot.
“An enthusiastic crowd. Huge. [third] “We had a lot of really good at-bats in that inning,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Tyrone Taylor reached base on an error by Braves third baseman Austin Riley to lead off the inning.
Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo then walked, allowing a perfect grand slam to the struggling J.D. Martinez.
On a 3-1 fastball, Martinez smashed it the other way and it traveled 366 feet, sending the Citi Field crowd into a frenzy.
“I think the guys did a great job not chasing him. [Braves starter Charlie Morton] “It’s just a matter of getting around the zone and getting him in the zone,” Martinez said after the win. “Obviously, we walked some guys, we got some guys on base. It was a total team effort. Everybody was just making sure we weren’t getting chased around.”
Martinez, who was 6-for-37 at-bats in the 10 games prior to Friday, was followed by Jeff McNeil who hit a double and then immediately scored on Mark Vientos’ two-run homer to left field.
Two at-bats later, Francisco Alvarez hit a solo home run to give the Mets a commanding 7-2 lead.
“Just being a part of that game was awesome,” Vientos said. “Being a part of this clubhouse is special. I’m grateful. Every day I come here, it’s amazing. It’s really exciting.”
One moment the Mets can look back on for morale is when pitcher Kodai Senga, making his season debut, went down with a torn left calf muscle in the top of the sixth inning, making the win bittersweet.
But Mendoza wasn’t worried about how his team would react to the news.
“They’re OK,” he said. “We’re going to continue to play hard. We’re going to keep adding and keeping the pressure on. We’ve been through a lot. The guys will be ready to go tomorrow.”
