NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets moved past the Braves for the top NL wild card berth, beating Atlanta 8-4 on Friday night behind J.D. Martinez’s grand slam in a seven-run third inning but losing Kodai Senga to another injury in his season debut.
Martinez’s ninth slam was the first of three long balls in the third against Charlie Morton (5-6), who also allowed Mark Vientos’ two-run homer and Francisco Alvarez’s solo drive in front of a frenzied crowd of 34,673 that included 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 and moved a season-high seven games over .500 following its 11th win in 14 games. The Mets had dropped 10 games behind the Braves on June 2 and are 31-13 since.
“Feels great, for sure,” Vientos said. “A couple months ago, everybody was down in the dumps. Different picture now. 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 straight games — its longest skid since a six-game losing streak from Sept. 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 injury-delayed season debut was cut short after 5 1/3 innings and 73 pitches when he strained his left calf. After inducing Austin Riley to pop up leading off the sixth, Senga (1-0) pointed toward Pete Alonso and began sprinting off the mound to clear room for the first baseman. The 31-year-old right-hander grabbed his left calf and bounced for a couple steps before falling.
Senga will have an MRI 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 lot of baseball left, so we’ve just got to keep it going.”
Senga, who missed the first 102 games with a right shoulder capsule strain, allowed just two hits — including Adam Duvall’s two-run homer in the second inning — while striking out nine. He retired his final 10 batters.
“Pretty impressive — nasty,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “The life on the fastball — it’s an easy 96 (mph) and then there’s 98 in the tank when he needs to. The splitter, the cutter. There’s so much movement on his pitches.”
Runner-up to Arizona’s Corbin Carroll for NL Rookie of the Year last season, Senga was 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts after signing a $75 million, five-year contract.
Duvall also homered against Jake Diekman in the ninth for his 13th multihomer game. Marcell Ozuna homered off Eric Orze in the sixth.
Morton allowed seven runs — five earned — and six hits in a 2 2/3 innings, his shorting outing since last Sept. 22. Riley misplayed Tyrone Taylor’s leadoff grounder to third for an error.
“The inning started out weird with an error,” Snitker said. “Just couldn’t stop the bleeding.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: OF Michael Harris II (left hamstring strain) said he is feeling better after a setback this month in his recovery. Harris is hopeful he can return shortly after he’s eligible on Aug. 14.
Mets: RHP Dedniel Núñez (right pronator strain) was placed on the 15-day injured list. Manager Carlos Mendoza said Núñez, a rookie who is 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA and one save, underwent an MRI that revealed no ligament damage.
UP NEXT
Mets RHP Tylor Megill (2-4, 5.08 ERA) returns to the majors on Saturday to oppose Braves RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (3-5, 4.62 ERA).
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