ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves kicked off a pivotal series with the New York Mets in Atlanta on Tuesday night by rising to the occasion.
The Braves won 5-1, clawing back in the Wild Card race as they trail the Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks. The race is going down to the wire with only five games left in the season -- though with wet weather hitting Atlanta today and then Tropical Storm Helene approaching tomorrow, it may not be until next week that the NL East rivals get a chance to finish the series.
So where do things stand after the win Tuesday night?
Braves in the Wild Card standings, 5 games to go
- New York Mets 87-70, +0.5 games ahead
- Arizona Diamondbacks, 87-71, +/- 0 games
- Atlanta Braves: 86-71, -0.5 games behind
*Two teams advance
Latest state of the race
- Braves vs. Mets on Tuesday night: Braves won, 5-1
Where Braves are at now relative to the Mets: Atlanta is one game back of New York now, at 86-71 while the Mets are 87-70
- Diamondbacks result on Tuesday night: Arizona lost to San Francisco, 11-0.
Where Braves are at now relative to the Diamondbacks: Atlanta is a half game back of Arizona, with a record of 87-71, because the Diamondbacks have played one more game than Atlanta and New York.
Coming up
- Next up for Braves: vs. New York Mets in Atlanta tonight, 7:20 p.m. ET (weather permitting)
Looking ahead: If either of the next two Braves-Mets games are washed out, it's likely they'll play makeup games, perhaps even a double header, next Monday. The Braves' final three regular season games on the schedule are this weekend in Atlanta against the Kansas City Royals.
- Next up for Mets: vs. Braves in Atlanta tonight, 7:20 p.m. ET
Looking ahead: See above for Braves implications. For the weekend finale, the Mets travel to Milwaukee to play the Brewers.
- Next up for Diamondbacks: vs. San Francisco Giants tonight, 9:40 p.m. ET
Looking ahead: After closing out a series with San Francisco tonight, the Diamondbacks are off tomorrow and then finish their season with a weekend series at home in Arizona against the San Diego Padres.
Braves vs. Mets report, Tuesday night
Michael Harris II had three more hits, including a solo home run and an RBI double, and rookie Spencer Schwellenbach shut down the New York Mets again as the Atlanta Braves cruised to a 5-1 win Tuesday night in the opener of a pivotal three-game series.
“Felt good to come out swinging and get some runs early,” Harris said. “That’s what we did tonight. Pitching was phenomenal from Schwellenbach. We just have to come out and do the same thing the next two days.”
Marcell Ozuna added his 39th home run for Atlanta, which trails the Mets by one game in the National League playoff race with five remaining. New York (87-70) stayed a half-game ahead of Arizona (87-71) for the second of three wild cards, while the Braves (86-71) moved within a half-game of the Diamondbacks for the league’s last postseason berth when Arizona lost 11-0 to San Francisco at home.
Those three teams are competing for two spots that remain available, after San Diego punched its playoff ticket with a 4-2 victory at Dodger Stadium.
Schwellenbach (8-7) threw seven strong innings, giving up one run and three hits with four strikeouts. He allowed one run and five hits while striking out 15 batters over 14 innings in two wins against the Mets this season.
“The juices were definitely flowing,” Schwellenbach said. “This is basically the playoffs for us. We need wins.”
Harris finished a triple shy of the cycle and has 13 hits in his last five games. He also made a diving catch in center field to rob Mets rookie Luisangel Acuña of a base hit.
“Good timing,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker. “It is the right time of year to get hot.”
Acuña was playing his first major league game in front of older brother Ronald Acuña Jr., who watched from the Atlanta dugout. The star Braves outfielder and reigning NL MVP is out for the season with a knee injury. The siblings exchanged jerseys before the game.
Luis Severino (11-7) took the loss, giving up four runs in four innings. He permitted seven hits and a walk while striking out five.
New York was coming off a 6-1 homestand.
Mark Vientos hit his 26th home run for the Mets, and Jose Iglesias extended his hitting streak to 17 games.
“We still have a chance to win a series here,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We didn’t play well. We didn’t make a play a couple of times. We missed a cutoff man one time. We've got to turn the page. I know it is going to be a story because it is here in Atlanta. We've got to go out and do it.”
The Braves pushed across three runs in the third, when Harris doubled home Orlando Arcia and then scored on a single from Ozzie Albies. With two outs, Ramón Laureano knocked in Albies with a soft single.
Harris extended the lead to 4-0 with a 422-foot homer to left field in the fourth, and Ozuna’s shot made it 5-0 in the fifth.
Heavy rains from Tropical Storm Helene are forecast for the Atlanta area on Wednesday and Thursday, which might make it difficult to get the games in and could potentially force a makeup situation next Monday, one day after the regular season is scheduled to be completed. The Mets are at Milwaukee starting Friday, and the Braves will host the Royals.