ATLANTA — A.J. Ewing took over the leadoff spot Friday night, but reshuffling the cards didn’t get the Mets far.
A disappointing lineup remained on brand, and aside from an early Juan Soto homer and ninth inning rally was largely silent in a 5-3 loss to the Braves at Truist Park.
Ewing went 0-for-3 in his debut atop the order on a night the Mets dropped a season-worst 16 games below .500. The Braves had just five hits, but four were homers.
Interim manager Andy Green indicated his plan is to keep Ewing at leadoff against right-handed pitching. Carson Benge, who was hitting in that spot, moved to fifth in the order.
“What [Ewing] has done in his short stint in the big leagues, he’s putting up a [.375] on-base percentage against right-handed pitching, that is incredibly rare for a rookie,” Green said before the game. “It fits his long-term skill set: speed, grinds at-bats, shoots the ball around the yard and it also fits Carson to be a middle-of-the-order type guy.
“Carson filled into that spot ably, he slid into that spot before A.J. was called up to the big leagues and did a really nice job on that spot. It doesn’t mean he won’t ever go back to that spot.”
Christian Scott lasted just four innings, allowing three earned runs on two hits and four walks with seven strikeouts. Scott’s start was his shortest since May 18 at Washington (also four innings).
He departed after 82 pitches on this night.
Michael Harris II blasted a two-run homer in the second to put the Mets in a 2-0 hole. Scott walked Mauricio Dubón leading off the inning before throwing a first-pitch fastball that Harris launched over the center-field fence.
Soto tied it with a two-run homer in the third. After Ewing reached on Matt Olson’s fielding error, Soto hit a shot just inside the left-field foul pole near the visitor’s bullpen. Adding to the moment, reliever Cionel Pérez caught the ball in his cap. Soto’s homer was his team-leading 18th.
Scott surrendered a homer to Ozzie Albies in the third that put the Mets in a 3-2 hole. Albies crushed a 2-1 fastball into the right-field seats.
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“Those two innings [the second and third] got my pitch count up and I just wasn’t good enough,” Scott said. “I have just got to do a better job attacking the zone early. I thought they put me in some long at-bats there in those innings and they were well-executed by them.”
Scott concluded his outing by striking out the side in the fourth.
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“He’s at his best when he’s attacking and he’s certainly trying to do that,” Green said. “Innings two and three, he got behind Dubón and that started that inning and then Harris jumped him. It was just scattered command for a couple of innings. It was good to see him battle back in the fourth.”
Olson’s homer against A.J. Minter in the fifth extended the Braves’ lead to 4-2. It was the first earned run allowed by Minter in 15 appearances this season.
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Olson’s second homer of the night, an eighth-inning blast against Kodai Senga, widened the Mets’ deficit to 5-2.
Bo Bichette’s RBI single in the ninth sliced the Braves’ lead to 5-3, but Francisco Lindor was retired for the final out with the tying runs on base.
“We weren’t able to string anything together,” Green said. “In isolation there was a good at-bat here and there … the Soto home run the other way was ridiculously good. His at-bats continue to be ridiculously good. And the rest of the lineup scattered decent at-bats.”
