Olson hits another home run, but Lopez misses with injury as Braves beat Mets 9-2 for a 4-game split

BY CHARLES O’BRIEN

NEW YORK (AP) — Matt Olson hit a home run in back-to-back games for the first time this season and the Atlanta Braves bounced back from an injury to All-Star starter Reynaldo Lopez in a 9-2 win over the New York Mets on Sunday.

Austin Riley, Orlando Arcia and Ramón Laureano also went deep for the Braves, who salvaged a four-game split after losing the first two games of the series. They hold the top National League wild card and are 1 1/2 games ahead of New York for second place in the NL East.

“That’s a good win for our team,” manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s encouraging. Maybe we can breathe some life into that offense.”

López threw three shutout innings, dropping his major league-leading ERA to 2.06, before being knocked out with a stiff right forearm. He is day-to-day and will return to Atlanta for an MRI. The Braves already have a number of star players on the injured list.

“Right now it’s just a tightness in the forearm and we took it out as a precaution,” Snitker said. “I’m glad he said something because you just don’t know about things like that.”

Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer and Tyrone Taylor doubled twice for New York. Hours before the game, the Mets completed a trade with Washington for outfielder Jesse Winker. He drew a nice round of applause from the Citi Field crowd before being pinch-hit in the eighth inning.

Olson threw away his bat and helmet in frustration after being thrown out in the first inning by David Peterson (5-1). But then Olson hit a three-run homer 426 feet into the upper deck in right field to give Atlanta a 3-0 lead in the fourth.

It was Olson’s fourth home run against the left-handed pitcher from New York in 15 at bats.

“I’m still going to work hard to have consistent at-bats every time, but it’s good to see results,” Olson said.

Arcia took a bases-loaded walk later in the inning. He hit a solo homer in the seventh and Riley added a two-run homer off Ryne Stanek, who was making his Mets debut after being acquired in a trade with Seattle on Friday night.

Laureano’s two-run drive in the eighth inning made it 9-0.

“It was good to see the offense do some damage,” Riley said.

Dylan Lee (3-2) replaced López early in the fourth inning and threw two scoreless innings.

New York had six hits, including four doubles, in the first five innings but was unable to score, going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The Mets threatened in the fifth on a leadoff double by Taylor, but he was thrown out at the plate by Laureano on Ben Gamel’s single to center field.

“That’s a good pitching staff,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We created traffic today, especially in the first three innings, but we couldn’t get that big hit.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: LHP Max Fried (forearm) played long toss in the outfield. He is eligible to come off the injured list Friday, but there is no timetable for his return.

Mets: CF Harrison Bader missed his fifth straight game with right ankle soreness. … RHP Sean Reid-Foley (shoulder injury) made a rehab appearance with High-A Brooklyn, allowing two runs in two-thirds of an inning. … RHP Reed Garrett (elbow soreness) will face batters Wednesday before likely beginning a rehab assignment two days later.

NEXT ONE

Braves: RHP Grant Holmes (0-0, 2.70 ERA) makes his first career start Monday night when Atlanta opens a three-game series at Milwaukee. The 28-year-old rookie spent nearly a decade in the minors before being called up in mid-June. RHP Colin Rea (9-3, 3.60) pitches for the Brewers.

Mets: LHP Jose Quintana (5-6, 4.02 ERA) starts against Minnesota at home. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (3-1, 3.27), a former Mets farmhand, pitches for the Twins.