Atlanta Braves lose 7-6 as Mets salvage a win in series finale in Flushing

The Atlanta Braves have dominated the New York Mets this weekend and coming into the final game of the series, fans expected more of the same.

Atlanta sent Yonny Chirinos out to the mound and he would face off with Kodai Senga. The Braves offense had not faced Senga yet in 2023. Chirinos hasn't really been that great of an addition for Atlanta yet but there was hope for a decent start with how tough things have been for New York as of late.

It is a weird feeling watching a series against the Mets and it not being an important series where both teams are fighting for the top spot in the division. The Mets came ready to play and took advantage of some poor pitching to win the series finale 7-6 on Sunday. Let's check out some highlights.

First Inning Success Continues for Braves offense

Things started off well as the Braves offense continued their hot first-inning hitting and jumped ahead with a 3-0 lead early on.

Ronald Acuna Jr. led off the game with a single and promptly stole his 55th base of the season. Stealing that base set more history for Acuna as he became just the 8th player in MLB history to have 25+ HR and 55 SB in a season. The last player to accomplish this was Rickey Henderson in 1990.

Ozzie Albies followed that with a walk but he would be out after Austin Riley grounded the ball to Lindor. The Mets would only get the out at second base, however. Matt Olson then walked in his first at-bat of the game to load the bases.

This brought Marcell Ozuna to the plate as he was batting fifth today in place of Sean Murphy who was moved down in the order to 7th. That move paid off for Brian Snitker as Ozuna laced a three-run bases-clearing double to give Atlanta an early 3-0 lead.

Senga settled in after that and got out of the inning. The Mets hurler was a different man after that point and the Braves wouldn't get another hit off of him until the 5th and 6th inning. Atlanta did add on 3 more runs once the New York bullpen took over in the 7th inning.

Sean Murphy hit a lead-off solo home run off of Mets reliever Grant Hartwig to make the score 7-4 after 7 innings. That gave Murphy his 20th homer of the season and gave Atlanta their sixth batter with 20+ homers. That ties a franchise record and is just two players away from the MLB record set by the 2019 Minnesota Twins.

Hartwig was chased from the game in the 8th after Austin Riley lined a double down the left-field line. Brooks Raley checked in next and was greeted by a 2-run mammoth home run by Matt Olson.

That homer was the 43rd of the season for Olson and extended his MLB lead in home runs. That home run also set Matt's pace to 60 homers and his 107 RBI inch him closer to the single-season franchise record for first baseman which is 121. Freddie Freeman and Andres Galarraga share that honor currently.

The Braves slugger is now on pace for 148 RBI this season. Atlanta's franchise record for most RBI in a single season is 145 and was set by Boston Beaneaters outfielder Hugh Duffy back in 1894. It's wild enough that Matt is on pace to break multiple records this year but to have a chance at breaking a record that is over a century old is mind-boggling.

Related Article: Matt Olson Breaks Braves Record for Most Home Runs by Left-Handed Batter in a Season

This brought the Braves within one run of the lead as the score was now 7-6. Fortunately for Mets fans, Atlanta would not be able to add any runs in the ninth inning and the Mets salvaged a win in the last game of the series.