Mets split doubleheader with Braves
NEW YORK — Jeff McNeil laced his second go-ahead hit in two days Monday night, when his RBI double in the fifth inning sent the New York Mets to a 1-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves and a doubleheader split.
Kyle Muller threw five sharp innings to earn his second big league victory in the opener, a 2-0 win for the Braves.
Under pandemic rules, each game was shortened to seven innings.
The Mets have split nine of their 11 doubleheaders this season and swept the other two. The loss in the nightcap prevented the third-place Braves (49-51), who have yet to be above .500 this year, from reaching the break-even mark for the seventh time. They are five games behind the NL East-leading Mets.
New York squandered a first-and-third, none-out opportunity in the fourth before scoring its lone run of the day in the fifth. Brandon Nimmo led off with an infield single and scored one out later on the double by McNeil, who was making his first start since Wednesday.
McNeil missed games Friday and Saturday against Toronto with left leg fatigue before delivering a pinchhit, two-run double that broke a tie in the sixth inning of Sunday’s 5-4 win.
Trevor May (3-2), the fourth of six Mets pitchers Monday night, threw a perfect fifth.
The Braves mounted their biggest threat in the sixth against Seth Lugo, who gave up a single to Joc Pederson and walked Ozzie Albies before Freddie Freeman flied out to the wall in left field. Austin Riley then hit into a 4-6-3 double play.
Edwin Diaz struck out the side in a perfect seventh for his 22nd save.
Mets opener Aaron Loup threw a perfect first inning.
Braves starter Bryse Wilson allowed four hits and walked one with two strikeouts in three-plus innings.
In the first game, the 23-year-old Muller (2-3) gave up four hits and walked two while striking out three. He allowed the Mets to advance just two runners as far as second base as he lowered his ERA to 2.55 in six games (five starts).
Tyler Matzek threw a perfect sixth and Will Smith earned his 20th save.
Muller also helped build the Braves’ first run by singling off Marcus Stroman (7-9) in the third for his first major league hit. Pederson followed with an RBI double.
An unusual double by Dansby Swanson leading off the fourth began the Braves’ second run-scoring rally. Swanson’s shot high off the center-field wall was initially ruled a homer by second base umpire Jose Navas, but Kevin Pillar threw the ball into the infield and Swanson was tagged by shortstop Jonathan Villar as crew chief Doug Eddings overruled Navas and awarded Swanson second base.
Stephen Vogt followed with a single and Swanson scored when Orlando Arcia beat out a potential doubleplay grounder.
Stroman allowed two runs on eight hits and one walk with four strikeouts over five innings.
RED SOX 5, BLUE JAYS 4
BOSTON — Alex Verdugo hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox rallied late for the second straight game, beating Toronto in the opener of an important series for the Blue Jays.
Boston star Rafael Devers added a solo homer on the four-year anniversary of his first major-league shot.
Bo Bichette hit a two-run homer for fourth-place Toronto, which fell to 101/2 games behind in the East.
A day after being no-hit for seven innings by New York’s Domingo German before putting up five runs in the eighth to erase a fourrun deficit and beat the rival Yankees, Boston’s bats were held down until Verdugo belted his drive over the Red Sox bullpen off Trevor Richards (1-1).
He took his time rounding the bases, enjoying the moment. On Sunday, Verdugo broke up the no-hitter with a deep double to right.
Adam Ottavino (3-3) worked a scoreless inning for the win. Matt Barnes got the final three outs for his 22nd save.
Bichette hit his drive over the Green Monster off Nick Pivetta, a shot that hit a wall behind the first row and bounced back onto the field to make it 4-3.
Devers’ shot into the right-field seats made it 3-2.
Toronto starter Thomas Hatch made just his second big-league start after being sidelined with a shoulder impingement since spring training. The 26-year-old right-hander gave up three runs on seven hits in 3 2/3innings.
Pivetta gave up four runs on six hits before being pulled after Bichette’s homer.