'Gutsy' win at Braves returns Mets to Citi Field with momentum after series split
Monday’s 7-6 win at the Braves saw the Mets escape Truist Park with a split of the four-game series after New York overcame Atlanta in 10 innings, led by clutch moments from Juan Soto and Luis Torrens, among others.
Interim manager Andy Green and the Mets (38-53) return to Citi Field for a six-game homestand before the All-Star break, beginning with Tuesday’s 7:10 p.m. start on SNY against the Kansas City Royals, trending back in the right direction.
“It was gutsy tonight, for sure,” Green said. “Some huge swings late. Love having Juan up in that situation. That’s a fun swing for the whole team. Huge swing for us. And then what Torrens did there again is pretty special. A lot of pitchers coming in and doing a really good job tonight, too — guys coming into some dicey situations. And so, I see it as a really gutsy win.”
Soto’s ninth-inning home run gave New York a 5-3 lead before the Braves (52-37) evened the score during the bottom half on Matt Olson‘s two-run shot against Devin Williams, but Torrens’ two-run double in the 10th and Luke Weaver‘s one-run relief appearance was enough for the Mets to survive.
New York went from a three-game skid, including a 19-6 margin in the first two losses of the series with the Braves between Friday’s 5-3 defeat and Saturday’s 14-3 result, to consecutive wins for the first time since June 17 and 18.
“It’s always great,” Soto said. “Play against teams like that — they’re a pretty good team, pretty good players over there and we showed that we can beat them. And at least to split of the series, I think it’s good to see — positive stuff.”
Soto turned on a 3-1 fastball at 95 mph against Raisel Iglesias over the plate’s inner half for his 19th homer of the season to put the Mets in front. He brought home Tyrone Taylor — pinch-running for Francisco Alvarez, who led off the ninth inning with a single — and Ronny Mauricio.
“He’s the best in the game,” Green said of Soto. “It’s just like he’s in a tier of his own and, in that moment, that’s who you want in the box. You’ve got to step back for a second and give credit to Alvy and Ronny Mauricio, who has not played much, facing … probably one of the best closers — if not the best closer — in the game right now and Ronny gets a huge hit for us there, too. So, those were two enormous at-bats that set us up for getting Juan to the dish.”
Torrens took Taylor’s spot in the lineup after the inning, entering as the Mets’ new catcher, and followed Soto’s momentum. In the 10th, Torrens turned on an 0-2 breaking ball at 80 mph over the inner half of the plate and sent a two-out double down the left-field line, scoring Bo Bichette and Jared Young.
“It’s very big,” Torrens said. “All of us are trying to pull out wins. And to be able to go out here the last two days and to pull out two victories, it’s really gratifying as a group.”
The Mets get a three-game series with the Royals (37-54), who enter New York after consecutive wins over the Phillies to take the three-game set from Philadelphia (50-41). A three-game series with the Boston Red Sox follows Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“Every day is a new day,” Soto said. “We can’t focus on what happened. It’s been a tough series, season, definitely, but we’ve got to take the positive stuff. So, definitely, today, it was a really good, positive day. So, definitely, we take it and we learn from it, we keep moving forward.”
