The New York Mets dropped their series opener to the Atlanta Braves, 5-3, on Friday night at Truist Park as costly home runs spoiled another solid-but-short outing from Christian Scott. The loss dropped New York to 36-52, while Atlanta improved to 51-35.
Scott showed flashes of dominance, striking out seven over four innings while allowing just two hits, but three mistakes proved decisive. After issuing a leadoff walk to Mauricio Dubón in the first, Scott surrendered a two-run homer to Michael Harris II.
Juan Soto erased that deficit in the third, launching a two-run opposite-field homer after A.J. Ewing reached on an error to knot the game at 2-2. The tie lasted only moments, however, as Ozzie Albies answered with a solo shot later in the inning to put Atlanta back in front for good.
Scott exited after four innings, allowing three runs with four walks on 82 pitches, and has now failed to complete five innings in each of his last several starts.
The Mets struggled to generate consistent offense beyond Soto, who finished 2-for-4 with his 18th homer of the season and later reached on a successful challenge that overturned a called strike into a walk. Ewing scored once in his debut as New York’s leadoff hitter despite going hitless, while Kodai Senga kept the Mets within striking distance by tossing 2.2 innings of one-run relief with four strikeouts. Matt Olson added solo home runs in the fifth and eighth innings to help Atlanta pull away.
The Mets and Braves continue their four-game series on Saturday at Truist Park, with first pitch scheduled for 8:08 p.m. Sean Manaea (1-3, 4.71 ERA) is set to start for New York against Chris Sale (8-6, 2.10 ERA).
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Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.