Austin Riley’s sacrifice fly to deep center scored Luke Williams and gave the Braves a 5-4 victory over the Mets in 10 innings Tuesday at Truist Park.
With the bases loaded, Riley took the first pitch he saw from Mets reliever Huascar Brazoban (3-2) and belted it toward the bullpen in right center. It was caught by center fielder Tyrone Taylor, but was plenty deep enough for Williams to score the winner.
“He threw four change-ups to Matty (Olson) in the dirt so I kind of had a feeling he was gonna challenge me, especially with the sinker, try to get a ground ball left side somewhere,” Riley said. “I just told myself see it up. He throws 100, so just be on time, and I was able to elevate it.”
Riley’s heroics were made possible partly because of a clutch hit from Marcel Ozuna in the eighth, Ronald Acuna Jr.’s defensive highlight in the ninth and Raisel Iglesias’ pitching in the 10th.
Ozuna had a three-run double to tie the score. Acuna leaped and caught a carrying fly ball off the bat of Pete Alonso on the right field warning track, then doubled up Juan Soto at first in the ninth. Iglesias (4-5) pitched a 1-2-3 10th.
It all helped the Braves shave a small bit off New York’s now 12-game lead in the National League East standings.
“(Acuna is) one of those guys, you better not go buy a beer when’s he’s around because he might do something that you’ve never seen before,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s that kind of talent.”
Trailing 4-1 in the eighth, the Braves (32-39) had the bases loaded and no one out, but nearly squandered away that scoring opportunity. But Ozuna’s two-out, two-strike double into the left field corner tied the score at 4-4.
That gave the Braves life after it trailed from the first inning on into late into the night.
“The Mets are in first place, they have a really good team, to go out there and beat them — every win matters, every win’s important. To be able to get that tonight is big,” Acuna said.
Soto opened the scoring Tuesday with a two-out solo homer to center (after he began the at-bat squaring to bunt) in the first inning, his 14th long ball of the season. That came shortly after a 56-minute rain delay at the outset.
With two outs and two on in the second, Mets nine-hole hitter Taylor popped a short fly ball into right that a diving Acuna just missed. That drove in two runs and put the Mets ahead 3-0.
In the third, with two outs and runners at first and second, Olson’s bloop RBI single to center put the Braves on the board.
Taylor struck again in the fifth, lifting a solo homer to left on an 0-2 splitter. It was just Taylor’s second home run of the season and first since April 30.
Mets starter David Peterson had shut down eight straight going into the seventh. Ozuna started that frame by grounding weekly to third, but advanced to second on Ronny Mauricio’s errant throw to first. The Braves wasted the break with a liner to third, flyout to left and weak pop to first.
Peterson issued a lead-off walk to Nick Allen in the eighth and a solid single to right off the bat of Acuna before being lifted. Righty Reed Garrett came in to face pinch-hitter Alex Verdugo who served a soft single into shallow right to load the bases. He got the next two hitters easily, and had two strikes on Ozuna, before Ozuna delivered by punching a splitter down the left-field line.
Braves starter Spencer Schwellenbach allowed four earned runs on six hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out eight.
“First couple innings gave up three runs and it’s just kind of, you just kinda gotta bear down and give the team as many innings as you can. Glad that I was able to get through seven,” Schwellenbach said. “It felt like a playoff game. It was a late start, but the fans were awesome. It was loud. Even when we were behind they stayed behind us.”
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