After an embarrassing series loss against the Nationals to drop their lead for the final wild card spot to just half a game, the Mets flew down to Atlanta to begin a three-game series against the Braves. They desperately needed a win, and they got a pretty impressive one. Rookie pitcher Nolan McLean became the first non-David Peterson Mets pitcher since early June to last six innings in a game, as he went seven while giving up just two runs in his second major league start. Meanwhile, the bats exploded for twenty-one hits and twelve runs en route to an easy victory (despite the bullpen’s best efforts to make it interesting late in the game) against their division rivals.
Around the National League East
Jhoan Duran blew his first save as a member of the Phillies, leading to a 5-4 loss against the Nationals.
Around Major League Baseball
While we were sleeping on the East Coast, the Diamondbacks walked off the Reds in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Mets a 1.5 game lead on Cincinnati for the third NL Wild Card slot.
The Rays beat the Cardinals 10-6 to drop St. Louis five games out in the NL Wild Card race.
With a 2-1 victory over the Dodgers, the Padres tied things up in the NL West once again.
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