The Mets were unable to take home the sweep in Atlanta, but because of the bats of the unlikely Tomás Nido and Jonathan Villar, they didn’t go away quietly and made the Braves sweat in a 5-4 loss on Wednesday night.
This was shaping up as a third straight surprising victory for the Mets at Truist Park. However, on the first pitch of the ninth inning from Jacob Barnes, Ronald Acuña Jr wiped away the Mets’ hopes of their first sweep in Atlanta since 2016 with a walk-off homer to center field. Despite the loss, the Mets have found some trustworthy and clutch bats hidden in their bench this series that they will need to get through this rough patch of injuries.
Throughout this series, Nido has been the unlikely contributor in a depleted lineup that is missing a number of regulars who are on the injured list, including Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, J.D. Davis and Jeff McNeil. In the top of the seventh with two runners on, Nido hit a bloop single to center field to score James McCann and José Peraza to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead.
Nido entered Wednesday with a .208/.248/.344 line across parts of five MLB seasons — not the stats you would expect out of your hottest hitter. However, over the past three games, he has come alive as the unlikely source of thump with five hits, including a game-winning home run on Tuesday.
Through the first three innings, the Mets were on cruise control with David Peterson on the mound. He started the game looking untouchable with four straight perfect innings, but a three-run rally in the fifth washed away what had the makings of a dominant start.
Peterson fanned five and allowed three runs on five hits and one walk over 4 2/3 innings.
Through three innings, the Mets’ offense was held to just one hit, a single from Dominic Smith. In New York’s second time through the lineup, Jonathan Villar stepped to the plate and once again was able to ignite the offense. On a 1-2 pitch, Villar hit an absolute shot off Braves starter Charlie Morton and admired his work as it traveled 431 feet over the right-field wall. This gave Villar his fourth homer of the season and his second in as many games.
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Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].