Mets mired in lengthy slide as Braves arrive
The Mets will try to halt their latest skid when they host the Atlanta Braves Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series between the longtime National League East rivals.
Clay Holmes (9-6, 3.46 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against fellow right-hander Spencer Strider (5-9, 4.04 ERA).
Both teams were off Monday after concluding eventful series Sunday afternoon. The Mets suffered their latest frustrating defeat by squandering a five-run lead prior to Isaac Collins' ninth-inning walk-off homer off Edwin Diaz in a 7-6 loss to the host Milwaukee Brewers. Meanwhile, the host Braves wrapped up a rare five-game series win by cruising past the Miami Marlins, 7-1.
The loss was the seventh straight for the Mets, who are 1-11 since July 28. New York also lost seven in a row from June 13-20 to begin a 17-game stretch in which they went 3-14.
The Mets are 18-31 overall since June 13 -- the third-worst record in baseball behind the Washington Nationals and Colorado Rockies. New York has scored 194 runs in that span, tied with the San Francisco Giants for the fewest in the bigs entering Monday's play. The Mets have surrendered 259 runs in the last two months, which is third-most behind the Rockies and Nationals.
The extended tailspin has endangered what seemed to be a certain return to the playoffs for New York, which fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series last year. The Mets had MLB's best record at 45-24 through June 12, but now they're 5 1/2 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East and just 1 1/2 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the final wild- card spot.
"We haven't played well for quite a bit now and that's what happens," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. "We can't be looking at the standings. We've got to start getting the job done. That simple."
Winning four times in five games -- while damaging the Marlins' long-shot playoff hopes -- provided a little bit of solace in a frustrating year for the Braves, whose streak of seven consecutive playoff berths appears likely to end. Atlanta outscored Miami 31-19 during the five-game set, which was necessitated by a rainout in Georgia on April 6.
Atlanta might be well-equipped to play spoiler again this week. The Braves' three straight victories to end the Miami series marked their longest winning streak since they swept the visiting Mets from June 17-19.
The Braves are 5-2 against the Mets this year and need two wins in their six remaining meetings to clinch the season series for the eighth straight year and the 24th time since 1994, when Atlanta joined New York in the NL East.
"We've still got a bunch of baseball to play," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "Hopefully we can get on our run. We haven't done that yet. Hopefully we can do that."
Holmes didn't factor into the decision in his most recent start Aug. 5, when he allowed two runs over five innings in the Mets' 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. Holmes is 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA in 12 career games (two starts) against the Braves.
Strider took the loss last Wednesday after giving up five runs on 11 hits over 4 2/3 innings as the Braves fell to the Brewers, 5-4. Strider is 6-1 with a 4.97 ERA in 10 games (eight starts) against the Mets.
--Field Level Media
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