Mets can’t get out of their own way in latest ugly loss
Hopefully, you were celebrating Independence Day with family and friends by enjoying a cookout, watching fireworks, or doing just about anything but watching the New York Mets.
The Atlanta Braves throttled the Mets 14-3 Saturday night in Atlanta, outplaying them in all facets in another ugly loss. New York’s lineup was its normal sleepy self against starter Chris Sale and the Braves bullpen. The Mets’ pitching staff was uncompetitive, as all four pitchers who made an appearance gave up at least one home run. The Braves bashed five total home runs to fully embarrass the Mets.
New York has lost 12 of their last 14 games and fallen to 17 games below .500 as the 2026 campaign continues to worsen.
The Braves scored four runs in the third inning thanks to a meltdown from starting pitcher Sean Manaea and the Mets’ defense. Manaea gave up a walk, a single, and a hit batsman to load the bases for Michael Harris II, who singled to score Drake Baldwin. Eli White, who homered off Manaea in the second inning, doubled to clear the bases and bury the Mets 5-0 early. White’s double was a pop-up that landed between Fransico Lindor and Tyrone Taylor in a hideous play. Surprisingly ruled a hit, Taylor got leather on the ball but couldn’t secure the catch while Lindor dove to the ground to avoid a collision. White has been a huge pain in Manaea’s side, hitting two home runs and two doubles in his last four at-bats against the right-hander.
Taylor’s drop put a spotlight on interim manager Andy Green’s decision to bench AJ Ewing against Sale in an effort to shield him from tough left-handed pitching. Ewing’s defense has been a strength for the Mets since being called up, with +3 defensive runs saved, which is the 10th-best mark among MLB centerfielders.
Taylor somewhat redeemed himself when he hit a solo home run off Sale in the fifth inning. Sale returned for the sixth inning but gave up a two-run home run to Mark Vientos as the Mets briefly showed signs of life. Sale gave up a single to Eric Wagaman and then hit Francisco Alvarez with a pitch before being pulled. Dylan Lee entered and struck out Carson Benge, Taylor, and Brett Baty on 11 pitches.
Lee and JR Ritchie combined to shut out the Mets offense for the final four innings. Meanwhile, the Mets fed Austin Warren to the wolves in relief of Manaea. Warren gave up four runs across his two innings on 44 pitches. Joey Gerber relieved Warren and gave up a three-run home run to Austin Riley, putting the Braves up 13-3. Backup catcher Luis Torrens relieved Gerber and gave up a home run to Harris before getting the final out of the eighth. Waving the white flag with a position player on the mound was the cherry on top for a Fourth of July performance that no Mets fan will want to remember.
The Mets stayed on brand by stranding 11 base runners and going a combined 1-for-9 with RISP. Lindor had two singles against Sale but struck out with the bases loaded against Ritchie in the eighth inning. Seven other Mets batters had a hit, but the team struck out 10 times and grounded into two double plays. Benge singled off Ritchie in the eighth to extend his hit-streak to nine games and his on-base streak to 16.
Nolan McLean is scheduled to take the mound Sunday for the Mets at 12:30 PM ET against Braves starter Martín Pérez. McLean pitched six shutout innings in his last appearance, so maybe he can at least be respectable following this Independence Day clunker.
Big Mets winner: Eric Wagaman, +4% WPA
Big Mets loser: Sean Manaea, -27% WPA
Mets pitchers: -34% WPA
Mets hitters: -16% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Mark Vientos home run in the sixth, +7% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Eli White double in third, +15.0% WPA
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