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Mets take series opener against Braves behind long balls and Edwin Diaz

The Mets kicked off their five-game series with their divisional rival Atlanta Braves with a convincing 6-4 win, powered by the long ball, a solid outing from Carlos Carrasco and an electric six-out save from Edwin Diaz.

After a 1-2-3 first, Pete Alonso drove in the first run of the night on a line drive single into left that brought Starling Marte around from second.

After another perfect inning from Carrasco in the second, new Met Tyler Naquin homered on a 2-0 meatball from Braves starter Kyle Wright that landed in the bullpen in right-center.

Carrasco ended the third with his fifth strikeout. In the bottom half of the inning, after Francisco Lindor drew a two-out walk, Alonso lasered a two-run homer, his 29th of the year, 412 feet into left-center. Alonso ticked up to 91 RBI on the year after he touched home plate.

Daniel Vogelbach followed Alonso with his first homer as a Met at Citi Field, a screaming no-doubter into right. It was his second homer in as many days.

Carrasco ran into some trouble in the fifth inning that and saw his scoreless streak end at 22⅔ innings. Braves rookie Michael Harris II singled in a run and scored on Ronald Acuna Jr.’s two-run shot that cut the Mets’ lead to 5-3.

Wright eventually settled down, but was stymied by the long ball again after Naquin’s second homer of the game in the sixth — an opposite-field pop that kept carrying until it landed several feet into the party deck in left field.

It was the team’s fourth homer of the night.

Carrasco left after six innings with six strikeouts.

Adam Ottavino came in for the seventh and allowed a second RBI single to Harris before striking out Acuna to end the threat.

Then the real fun began.

Diaz, pitching for the first time since last Friday, came in the eighth to face the heart of the Braves’ lineup: Dansby Swanson, Matt Olson and Austin Riley.

Swanson swung at the first pitch and grounded out to Lindor whose throw beat the speedy shortstop by half a step. Diaz sat down Olson on a 2-2 pitch after the first baseman’s checked-swing. He then blew away Riley, who went down swinging, too.

The Mets were unable to add any insurance runs before sending Diaz back to the mound in the ninth to try to finish a six-out save opportunity.

The flamethrower allowed a single to Eddie Rosario, who advanced to second on a wild pitch.

But Diaz took care of business, striking out Marcell Ozuna and recording the final out at first himself after Orlando Arcia checked his swing on a 3-0 pitch and weakly dribbled the ball toward first.

It was the closer’s first six-out save in his career and his 24th of the year.

The win gave the Mets a 4.5 cushion at the top of the NL East—and put them 29 games over .500—and raised their record against the Braves this season to 5-3 ahead of Taijuan Walker’s start on Friday. The game was the Mets’ first of an 11-game home stand.

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Source: Berkshire mont

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