Atlanta Braves vs New York Mets

Eli White opened the scoring in the bottom of the second, crushing a solo home run (4) off Sean Manaea to left field. The Braves broke the game open in the third. After Drake Baldwin scored on Michael Harris II's RBI single, White cleared the bases with a double to shallow center field — a ball that Tyrone Taylor misplayed as Francisco Lindor dove to avoid a collision — scoring Harris, Austin Riley and Matt Olson to make it 5-0.

Mauricio Dubón led off the fourth with a solo homer (9) to left, stretching the lead to 6-0 and ending Manaea's night.

The Mets briefly answered. Tyrone Taylor homered (4) off Chris Sale in the fifth, and Mark Vientos crushed a two-run shot (11) in the sixth — scoring Bo Bichette — to cut the deficit to 6-3. But the Braves answered immediately.

Joey Bart doubled home Mike Yastrzemski in the bottom of the sixth, and Dubón's groundout brought Bart home for an 8-3 lead. Mike Yastrzemski's two-run homer (5) in the seventh made it 10-3. Austin Riley's three-run blast (9) in the eighth — scoring Ozzie Albies and Dubón — and Harris's solo shot (16) in the same inning capped the scoring at 14-3.

White's bases-clearing double in the third inning turned a 1-0 game into a 5-0 blowout. The misplay in center field meant all three runs were unearned, but the damage was terminal. The Mets never got closer than three runs.

Eli White (ATL): 2-for-4, HR, double, 4 RBI, 2 runs. The go-ahead homer and the bases-clearing double that broke the game open.

Austin Riley (ATL): 1-for-4, 3-run HR (9), 3 RBI, 2 runs. His eighth-inning blast was the exclamation point.

Michael Harris II (ATL): 2-for-4, solo HR (16), 2 RBI, 2 runs. Consistently productive all night.

JR Ritchie (ATL): 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 4 K — first-career save. The rookie closed the final three innings without allowing a run.

Chris Sale (ATL, W): 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 3 K, 3 BB. Improved to 7-3 on the season, though he wasn't sharp — the bullpen bailed him out.

Sean Manaea (NYM, L, 1-4): 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, 4 K, 1 BB. Allowed 3 home runs and the critical bases-clearing double.

The Braves scored 14 runs on 13 hits with five home runs — their second straight game with five homers (they hit five in the 5-3 win on July 3 as well). Over the first two games of this four-game series, Atlanta has hit 10 home runs while the Mets have scored six runs total. The Mets struck out only four times as a team, but their 10 hits produced just three runs, with no extra-base hits outside the two homers. The Braves' bullpen (Ritchie, Dylan Lee, Austin Warren) combined for 4.0 scoreless innings after Sale exited.

The Braves (52-35) hold third place in the National League, 9.5 games behind the Dodgers and 5.5 behind the Brewers. The Mets (36-53) remain in last place in the NL East, 15 games under .500, with the worst record in the division. The series concludes Sunday, July 5 at 5:30 PM ET at Truist Park.

A complete mismatch. The Braves' power bats overwhelmed a Mets pitching staff that doesn't have the depth to trade blows in a slugfest. Manaea's inability to limit damage after the defense let him down in the third inning was the story — and it's a familiar one for a Mets team that has now lost four of its last five.