Christian Scott took the ball for the Mets at 7:15 PM ET carrying one of the only real bright spots in an otherwise lost New York season, entering the night 2-0 with a 3.49 ERA. Across the diamond, Grant Holmes (4-4, 3.83 ERA) was trying to give Atlanta a stopper after a week that saw the Braves lose 7 of their previous 8 games.
Atlanta still doesn't have Ronald Acuna Jr., who's been called a long shot to return before the All-Star break as he works back from a hamstring strain, and the numbers show exactly why that matters — the Braves have been a losing team without him in the lineup this season. The Mets, for their part, are already without Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco and Clay Holmes, and the offseason additions Steve Cohen signed off on haven't clicked. None of that stopped the books from making Atlanta the favorite anyway.
That gap between preseason expectation and recent reality has defined the Braves' last week and a half, and it nearly bit them again on Friday night.
Matt Olson made sure the skid stopped where it did. He went deep twice — a 429-foot shot in the 5th and a 411-footer in the 8th — and drove in both of Atlanta's decisive runs. Ozzie Albies added a solo homer and Atlanta got a two-run shot in the 2nd to build the cushion. Juan Soto answered with a two-run blast of his own in the 3rd, and the Mets actually out-hit the Braves 10-5 on the night, but Scott's final line — 4 innings, 3 earned runs — wasn't enough to hold off four total Atlanta homers. Holmes got the win despite a shaky final line of his own.
- 10-Day-ILMarcus Semien 2B — Semien was diagnosed Monday with a Grade 3 left hip flexor strain and is expected to be out for 4-to-6 weeks, at a minimum, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
- 60-Day-ILLuis Robert Jr. CF — Robert (back) will start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILClay Holmes SP — Holmes (fibula) has been throwing on flat ground and is expected to progress to mound work next week, Chelsea Janes of SNY.tv reports.
- 60-Day-ILJorge Polanco 1B — Polanco (Achilles) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.
- 60-Day-ILDedniel Nunez RP — Nunez (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment with Single-A St. Lucie on Thursday, Michael Mayer of MetsmerizedOnline.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILReed Garrett RP — The Mets placed Garrett (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.
- 60-Day-ILJustin Hagenman RP — The Mets placed Hagenman on the 60-day injured list Saturday due to a rib fracture.
- 60-Day-ILTylor Megill SP — The Mets placed Megill (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Thursday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILRonald Acuna Jr. RF — Acuna (hamstring) went through a full pregame workout at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tuesday, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
- 10-Day-ILKyle Farmer DH — Farmer (forearm) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Columbus on Tuesday.
- 15-Day-ILRobert Suarez RP — An MRI on Suarez's right elbow came back negative Friday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
- suspensionJurickson Profar LF — Profar will miss the full 2026 season after the appeal of his 162-game PED suspension was denied Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILAJ Smith-Shawver SP — Smith-Shawver (elbow) pitched three innings Tuesday during a rehab start with Single-A Augusta, allowing one run on three hits while striking out four batters, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
- 60-Day-ILSpencer Schwellenbach SP — Schwellenbach (elbow) will likely report to Atlanta's spring training facility in early July and could be a candidate to rejoin the major-league rotation by late August or early September, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILSpencer Strider SP — Atlanta transferred Strider (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Wednesday.
- 60-Day-ILSean Murphy C — Murphy had the cast on his left hand removed Tuesday and is now wearing a splint to protect his fractured middle finger, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reprots.
New York is playing out the string under interim manager Andy Green after firing Carlos Mendoza, and Friday was a tidy summary of the season: a good pitching performance, a couple of loud home runs, and still a loss. Atlanta, meanwhile, gets to paper over another rough week with a win, but the division lead won't feel safe again until Acuna's actually back in right field.