NEW YORK — Spencer Strider pitched seven scoreless innings and Ozzie Albies homered as the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 6-0 in the nightcap to complete a doubleheader sweep on Saturday.
The Braves routed the Mets 21-3 in the opener when Albies homered and drove in six runs and Nicky Lopez added four hits — including his first homer since Sept. 9, 2021 — and five RBIs before tossing a scoreless ninth inning.
“You’ve got to keep your mind in the game and keep focused at all times, otherwise, the game can turn on you real quick,” Albies said “So that’s what we do, keep going hard.”
Strider (13-4) allowed three hits and struck out six just hours after Allan Winans (1-0) worked seven scoreless innings and struck out nine on the way to his first big league win.
Before Saturday, a starter for the Braves hadn’t gone seven innings since Bryce Elder on July 29.
“It starts with your starting pitching — always, this game’s all about that,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “And when you get two (long) starts and can use three relievers in 18 innings, that’s pretty good.”
Kevin Pillar had a run-scoring single and Marcell Ozuna hit a two-RBI double in support of Strider before Albies hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning.
José Quintana (0-4) gave up four hits in six innings of one-run ball for the Mets. Quintana, who didn’t make his first appearance of the season until July 20 due to a left rib fracture, is winless in five starts despite a 3.03 ERA.
“I think the momentum of the first one kind of gets negated when you come in here and sit and everybody has to kind of recover and start over,” Strider said. “It’s a blank slate when you play that second one and that game could have gone either way for a minute with the way Quintana was pitching for them. Our guys came through, as they always do.”
The Mets were shut out for the 13th time this season.
The sweep assured the Braves of their sixth straight season series victory over the Mets. Atlanta has outscored New York 118-54 in the last 16 games, dating to last season.
Albies’ shot in the nightcap ran the Braves’ major league-leading total to 225 homers. In the opener, Matt Olson had his seventh multi-homer game of the season and the 20th of his career.
Sean Murphy and Austin Riley also homered for the NL East leaders, who scored eight runs in the ninth inning runs off Mets infielder Danny Mendick. The 21 runs were the third-highest single-game total in franchise history.
Lopez’s plate appearances Saturday were his first since the Braves acquired him in a trade with Kansas City on July 30.
“I asked him if he’s ever pitched and he’s like ‘Yeah, I’ve got a knuckleball,” Snitker said. “That was awesome, too, that he could go out there and do that, so we didn’t have to warm up anybody behind him or anything like that. Very impressive first outing for him.”
Lopez, who also pitched for the Royals on Aug. 13, 2022, is the third position player this season to homer and toss a scoreless inning of relief on the mound.
Daniel Vogelbach hit a three-run homer for the Mets in the eighth inning.
“We just didn’t score any runs, other than late in the first game,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “Basically, you’re talking about 18 innings of really being challenged offensively.”
New York’s Denyi Reyes (0-2) allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings in the first game.
ROSTER MOVES
Winans served as the Braves’ 27th man for the doubleheader. The Mets recalled right-hander Reed Garrett from Triple-A Syracuse as their 27th man.
The Mets made a slew of transactions Saturday. With Reyes on the active 26-man roster, New York designated right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis for assignment early Saturday afternoon.
Following the opener, the Mets optioned Reyes to Triple-A Syracuse, recalled right-hander Tyson Miller from the same affiliate, reinstated outfielder Tim Locastro from the 60-day injured list and designated for assignment outfielder Abraham Almonte.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: LHP Dylan Lee (shoulder inflammation) could use most of his 30-day rehab window ramping up for multi-inning outings. He has tossed a scoreless inning in each of his first three appearances for Triple-A Gwinnett.
Mets: SS Francisco Lindor (right side) and CF Brandon Nimmo (left quad strain) each sat out the first game before playing in the nightcap. Lindor was 0-for-4 with a stolen base while Nimmo went 2-for-2 with two walks while playing left field for the first time since Apr. 25, 2021. … Locastro, who missed almost four months with back and thumb injuries, went 0-for-3.
UP NEXT
Braves RHP Yonny Chirinos (5-4, 4.83 ERA) opposes Mets RHP Kodai Senga (8-6, 3.24 ERA) in Sunday night’s series finale. Chirinos has an 8.56 ERA in three starts since being claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay on July 23. Senga, who last pitched Monday, has a 3.06 ERA when pitching on five or more days of rest.
