Zac Thornton kept it close enough for six innings that the Mets had a chance to mount a comeback against the Atlanta Braves, but the bullpen just isn’t what it was before the trade deadline. A three-run homer served up by right-hander Dedniel Nuñez in the seventh inning on Wednesday night at Truist Park pushed the game out of reach, and the Mets lost, 6-3.
They finished a nine-game, three-city post-deadline road trip at 6-3, which is impressive given the talent they've lost. The Mets went from having a deep group of veteran relievers with high-leverage experience to a back-end group largely made up of journeyman arms. Closer Devin Williams also went on the injured list at the start of the week, putting an even greater workload on the bullpen.
Yet the new crop held their own, for the most part.
It helps that the offense produced as well. Down by four in the series finale against the Braves, Bo Bichette homered off Raisel Iglesias in the ninth inning to help close the gap. Carson Benge doubled and Luis Robert Jr., who homered earlier in the game off left-hander Dylan Dodd, walked to put two on with none out and bring the tying run to the plate. Jared Young grounded into a force out to put runners at the corners, but Francisco Alvarez popped out in foul territory, and Marcus Semien grounded into a force out.
The Braves (72-48), the NL East’s best team, took the series 2-1.
Benge went 2 for 4 with a double and has now hit safely in eight of his last 10 games since Aug. 1. His hot streak goes back further into July, and the same goes for Bichette, who is hitting .318 this month with a .911 OPS. Robert hit his sixth of the season, and catcher Luis Torrens hit an opposite-field shot off right-handed starter Tyler Mahle in the sixth inning. Torrens has only five this season, but three in five games this month.
The lineup has been playing longer, and the Mets (53-69) have been playing looser and freer overall over the last few weeks.
They used those solo homers to get back into the game. Thornton (3-3), a rookie left-hander, scattered three runs over six innings, giving up seven hits, walking one and striking out two. He faced traffic on the basepaths in the fifth, giving up an RBI single to Ronald Acuña Jr. Acuña was thrown out at second, then Thornton got the next two outs.
After laboring in the fifth, he needed only seven pitches to get through the sixth.
Nuñez gave up a three-run shot to Mike Yastrzemski in the seventh, ultimately dooming the Mets. An up-and-coming reliever two years ago, Nuñez missed most of last season and this one after undergoing Tommy John surgery. In three appearances since he was called up again, he’s given up seven runs, five of them earned. He’s had bad-luck defense, but he’s also struggled a bit as well.
Mahle (4-9) held the Mets to one earned run on four hits and struck out seven over six innings in the win.
The team will be off Thursday before returning home to Citi Field on Friday to host the Washington Nationals in a three-game weekend series.
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