Outfielder Joc Pederson and catcher William Contreras hit home runs and the Atlanta Braves hung on for a 6-5 win over the visiting New York Mets on Saturday.
Pederson hit his 18th homer and Contreras added his eighth home run, giving the Braves 238 for the season. Atlanta has homered in 125 games this season.
The Braves (87-73) and Mets (77-84) play the season finale on Saturday. The teams have split 18 games and the Mets need a win to become the only team in the N.L. East to win a season series against the Braves.
Atlanta went with a bullpen game and starter Jesse Chavez (two innings) and Drew Smyly (three innings) worked shutout innings to start. Smyly (11-4) got the win.
The Mets rallied late and had the bases loaded in the ninth when Jacob Webb retired Jonathan Villar on a game-ending grounder to first base to earn his first save.
New York starter Carlos Carrasco (1-5) allowed five runs on seven hits, two walks, five strikeouts and gave up both home runs. The veteran lost his third straight start in his first career start against Atlanta.
The Braves scored twice in the third on Pederson’s home run and Freddie Freeman’s RBI single.
Atlanta got two more in the fourth on a two-run homer by Contreras.
Eddie Rosario singled home a run in the fifth to give Atlanta a 5-0 lead.
The Mets got on the board with a run against A.J. Minter in the sixth on Pete Alonso’s double, but the Braves got it back in the bottom half on an RBI single by Orlando Arcia.
New York made it 6-3 with two runs off rookie reliever Dylan Lee in the eight. Francisco Lindor picked up his 1,000th career hit, a triple in the eighth, and scored on Michael Conforto’s long homer to right field, his 14th.
The Mets scored a run in the ninth off Richard Rodriguez. James McCann doubled and scored on Kevin Pillar’s one-out triple. Brandon Nimmo followed with an RBI single.
–Field Level Media
