Braves vs Mets Recap: Mets Dominate, 8-1

The Atlanta Braves came to New York looking for revenge. Just yesterday, they'd lost 3-1 to the Mets and wanted to bounce back. But this Sunday game at Citi Field would tell a very different story. Michael Harris II scored the game's first run on a sacrifice fly by Dominic Smith in the first inning. Smith made contact on a 94-mph fastball from Freddy Peralta and flew out to left field. Harris II tagged up and sprinted home. The Braves led 1-0 and the crowd went quiet. The Mets answered back immediately. Jared Young singled to center field, driving in Bo Bichette. Then A.J. Ewing stepped up and smashed a double down the left-field line. Both Soto and Young scored on the play—and Yastrzemski's throwing error made it worse. Brett Baty added another hit, and just like that, the Mets led 4-1. Atlanta's starter Bryce Elder was in huge trouble already.

The second inning had the Mets sitting pretty at 4-1. But they weren't done pounding Bryce Elder. The real damage came in the fifth inning when Elder was still on the mound. A.J. Ewing came up and crushed a slider from Elder—the ball rocketed 361 feet over the right-field wall. The crowd erupted. Mets 5, Braves 1. Then Marcus Semien stepped in and didn't waste any time. His first pitch came in at 85 mph, a cutter right down the middle. Semien connected with a thunderous swing. The ball sailed 403 feet to center field—gone! The Mets were running away with it. Two homers in one inning. The Braves' pitching was falling apart fast. Elder had given up six runs through five innings. This was supposed to be Atlanta's ace moment, but instead the Mets were dominating the game completely. New York now led 6-1 heading into the later innings.

The game was already over, but the Mets added one more punch in the eighth inning. Anthony Molina took over pitching for the Braves. Juan Soto, the Mets' superstar hitter, was waiting. Soto worked the count to his advantage and got a pitch he liked—an 87-mph changeup. He singled to center field and the dam broke open. Two more runs scored: Binge came home and so did Bichette. The Mets' lead stretched to 8-1. That's when everyone knew this game was finished. The Braves couldn't mount any comeback. Atlanta's bats went quiet. The final score was 8-1, a complete victory for the Mets. Atlanta fell to 46-25, still strong but hurting after this loss. New York improved to 32-39 and grabbed some momentum. Freddy Peralta was the winning pitcher, keeping Atlanta to just one run through five innings. The Mets had shown they could still compete with anybody.