Final Score: Braves 4, Mets 3: Matz pretty good, bullpen less so

In perhaps the low point of the season thus far, the Mets dropped their second straight to the hapless Braves, this one by the score of 4-3.

Yoenis Cespedes put the Mets on the board in the third with a long home run to left center field, and Wilmer Flores made it 2-0 with a homer of his own an inning later. James Loney followed Flores with a triple, his first since 2011, and Rene Rivera brought him home with a sacrifice fly to give the Mets a 3-0 lead.

The Braves clawed back with a run in the fifth and a Jeff Francoeur solo shot in the sixth, and Tyler Flowers tied the game at three with a solo home run in the seven off reliever Jim Henderson.

In the top of the eighth, Ender Inciarte led off with a double and moved to third on a line out to right field by Francour. Nick Markakis struck out swinging for the second out, but Addison Reed threw a wild pitch to bring home Inciarte with the go-ahead run.

The Mets threatened in the bottom of the ninth. Wilmer Flores reached on a fielding error by shortstop Erick Aybar, and Loney lined a double to center that should have brought Flores home with the tying run. It did no such thing, and Flores was thrown out at home for the first out of the inning. Ty Kelly flied out to center for the second out, and Jim Johnson threw a wild pitch—sending Loney to third—and then hit Alejandro De Aza to put runners on the corners.

All for naught, though, as Curtis Granderson struck out looking to end the game. For his part, Steven Matz was solid, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks in six innings, striking out six along the way.

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