Thrilling walk-off puts Mets right in Braves' rearview mirror

NEW YORK -- For as well as the Mets have been playing of late, dispatching all challengers for the better part of two months, they still needed to accomplish one more thing to show that this version of the club really might be different. The Braves are a weakened team to be sure, decimated by injuries and underperformance. But they’re still the Braves. So often throughout the past three decades or so, they’ve been the ones to squash New York’s dreams.

If the Yankees have developed a decades-long reputation as the Mets’ big brother, then the Braves have been the bully across the street.

But perhaps not for much longer. A day after sweeping the Yankees in the Subway Series, the Mets extended their winning streak to four on Thursday on a walk-off, 3-2 victory over the Braves at Citi Field. Jeff McNeil’s 10th-inning single moved the Mets within a half game of second place in the NL East, which would also put them in position to host a Wild Card Series at Citi Field.

“But we’re not looking at the standings,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.

If the Mets did happen to sneak a peek, they would see they’re in a far, far better place than they were, finding unique paths to victory on a daily basis. On Thursday, they relied on solid pitching performances from Luis Severino (five-plus innings of two-run ball), bullpen revelation José Buttó (three perfect innings with four strikeouts) and Edwin Díaz (a scoreless ninth in a non-save situation) to keep the game tied, despite their offense mustering only two hits over the first nine innings.

Then came the 10th. Facing Phil Maton in the top of that inning, Orlando Arcia bunted automatic runner Ramón Laureano to third base. Moments later, Laureano came dashing home as Jarred Kelenic squared to bunt, but Kelenic pulled back his bunt attempt when Maton’s pitch sailed well wide of the strike zone. Francisco Alvarez snapped a throw down to third base and, following a brief rundown that ended with Laureano and Alvarez jawing at each other, the Mets retired Laureano for a crucial out.

Not long after, McNeil sliced a fly ball to right field, where Laureano sprinted after it in pursuit -- so hotly, in fact, that he overran the ball. It glanced off his glove and fell to the turf for a walk-off single.

“Heck of a game right there,” McNeil said.

It was the Mets’ seventh walk-off win this year and their second against the Braves, whose presence has long sent a shiver down the spines of anyone with a Queens zip code. Not only have the Braves won the NL East for six consecutive seasons, they’ve often done so at the expense of the Mets. The most notable recent example: Back in 2022, New York needed to win just once over a three-game series in Atlanta to put the division out of reach. They instead lost all three, settling for a Wild Card berth and ultimately losing that series as well.

“They’re a good team,” said shortstop Francisco Lindor, who garnered “M-V-P!” chants upon homering for the fifth time in four games. “They know how to play baseball in August and September. So we’ve just got to do the same thing. We’ve just got to continue to climb, continue to stay the course, and we’ll see where we are at the end of the year.”

Two years later, the momentum finally appears to be shifting in New York’s favor. Consider: the Braves have already lost perennial MVP candidate Ronald Acuña Jr. and preseason Cy Young Award favorite Spencer Strider to season-ending injuries. They’ve placed Max Fried, Ozzie Albies, Michael Harris II and many others on the injured list as well, leaving themselves with a shell of their normal roster. Even within that shell, the Braves have endured underperformances from Matt Olson, Austin Riley and others.

It could hardly be more divergent from the situation of the Mets, who have largely been healthy with one notable exception: Kodai Senga, who will return from the IL to make his season debut against the Braves on Friday. As if this Mets team needed any more of a boost, they’ll ask their best pitcher from last year to do what once seemed implausible: guide the Mets past the Braves in the standings.

“Having the start that we did, we were not even close,” Severino said. “Now, the turnaround and having Senga tomorrow? I will have my popcorn. It will be fun to watch.”