NEW YORK (AP) — Matt Olson homered in consecutive games for the first time this season, and the Atlanta Braves overcame an injury to All-Star starter Reynaldo López in a 9-2 rout against the New York Mets on Sunday.
Austin Riley, Orlando Arcia and Ramón Laureano also went deep for the Braves, who salvaged a four-game split after losing the first two games of the series. They hold the top National League wild card and moved 1 1/2 games ahead of New York for second place in the NL East.
“That’s a good win for our team,” manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s encouraging. Maybe we’re breathing some life into that offense.”
López pitched three shutout innings, lowering his major league-leading ERA to 2.06, before exiting with right forearm tightness. He is day-to-day and headed back to Atlanta for an MRI. The Braves already have a string of star players on the injured list.
“Right now, it’s forearm tightness and we took him out as a precaution,” Snitker said. “I’m glad he said something because you just don’t know about those things.”
Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer and Tyrone Taylor doubled twice for New York. Hours before the game, the Mets finalized a trade with Washington for outfielder Jesse Winker. He received a nice ovation from the Citi Field crowd before striking out as a pinch hitter in the eighth.
Olson threw his bat and helmet in frustration after striking out against David Peterson (5-1) in the first. But then Olson launched a three-run homer 426 feet into the upper deck in right field to give Atlanta a 3-0 lead in the fourth.
It was Olson's fourth home run off the New York left-hander in 15 at-bats.
“Still just going to be working to have consistent at-bats every time, but seeing results is good," Olson said.
Arcia drew a bases-loaded walk later in the inning. He hit a solo homer in the seventh and Riley added a two-run shot off Ryne Stanek, who was making his Mets debut after being acquired Friday evening in a trade with Seattle.
Laureano's two-run drive in the eighth made it 9-0.
“It was good to see the offense do some damage,” Riley said.
Dylan Lee (3-2) relieved López at the start of the fourth and fired two scoreless innings.
New York had six hits, including four doubles, through the first five innings but was unable to score, going 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. The Mets threatened in the fifth after a leadoff double by Taylor, but he was thrown out at the plate by Laureano on Ben Gamel’s single to center field.
“That’s a good pitching staff,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We created traffic today, especially in the first three innings, but couldn’t get that big hit.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: LHP Max Fried (forearm) played long toss in the outfield. He is eligible to come off the injured list Friday, but there's no timetable for his return.
Mets: CF Harrison Bader missed his fifth straight game with a sore right ankle. … RHP Sean Reid-Foley (shoulder impingement) made a rehab appearance with High-A Brooklyn, allowing two runs over two-thirds of an inning. … RHP Reed Garrett (elbow inflammation) will face hitters Wednesday before likely beginning a rehab assignment two days later.
UP NEXT
Braves: RHP Grant Holmes (0-0, 2.70 ERA) makes his first career start Monday night as Atlanta begins a three-game series in Milwaukee. The 28-year-old rookie spent nearly 10 years in the minors before being called up in mid-June. RHP Colin Rea (9-3, 3.60) pitches for the Brewers.
Mets: LHP Jose Quintana (5-6, 4.02 ERA) starts against Minnesota at home. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (3-1, 3.27), a former Mets farmhand, pitches for the Twins.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
