The New York Mets moved ahead of the Braves for the top NL wild card spot with an 8-4 win on Friday night. J.D. Martinez hit a grand slam during a seven-run third inning, but the Mets lost Kodai Senga to another injury in his first game of the season.
Martinez’s grand slam was the first of three home runs in the third inning off Charlie Morton (5-6). Mark Vientos added a two-run homer, and Francisco Alvarez hit a solo shot in front of a lively crowd of 34,673, including fans dressed as Grimace and Spiderman.
“It was fun — it was kind of crazy,” Martinez said.
New York (55-48) won its fifth straight game, moving a season-high seven games above .500. They’ve won 11 of their last 14 games, improving from a 10-game deficit behind the Braves on June 2 to a strong 31-13 record since then.
“Feels great, for sure,” Vientos said. “A couple of months ago, everybody was down in the dumps. Different picture now. A lot of baseball left. All we can do is pat ourselves on the back real quick and get back to work.”
Atlanta (54-48) has lost six games in a row, their longest losing streak since September 25-30, 2017, the final week of Brian Snitker’s first full season as manager.
“It’s not fun going through this, I’ll tell you that,” Snitker said.
Senga’s long-awaited season debut ended early after 5 1/3 innings and 73 pitches when he strained his left calf. After getting Austin Riley to pop up to start the sixth inning, Senga (1-0) pointed to Pete Alonso and tried to clear space for him at first base. He then grabbed his left calf and took a few steps before falling.
Senga will have an MRI on Saturday.
“It’s a tough piece to lose,” Martinez said. “He’s going to do everything he can to come back, and hopefully, he’s back by the playoffs. But a lot of baseball left, so we’ve just got to keep it going.”
