One look at the Mets’ starting lineup Tuesday night was all it took to measure the degree of difficulty this team faced against the surging Braves.
The ugly numbers at the bottom were .210, .216, .200 and .167, representing the batting averages of Dominic Smith, Eduardo Escobar, Travis Jankowski and Patrick Mazeika.
Such is life for the Mets as they await returns from Jeff McNeil and Starling Marte and perhaps a trade to bolster the lineup. McNeil is on paternity leave and Marte has been sidelined with left groin tightness.
An anemic showing at the plate, coupled with two home runs allowed meant a 4-1 loss for the Mets at Truist Park that evened this ballyhooed series between the NL East rivals. The Braves returned within 1 ½ games of the division lead, a night after Max Scherzer’s seven-inning gem carried the Mets to victory.
“The Braves’ pitching staff is really good,” said Francisco Lindor, who drove in the Mets’ only run with a triple in the fifth. “They executed today and the times they missed we didn’t capitalize on it.”
NEW YORK SPORTS THIS WEEK 