Mets blow late lead in crushing 10-inning loss to Braves for fourth straight defeat

ATLANTA — As badly as the Braves have performed this season, there is something about playing the Mets, particularly in Truist Park, that brings out their late-inning heroics.

Tuesday night the Mets appeared to be sailing, but the wind suddenly changed and the boat capsized.

A three-run lead disappeared in the eighth before Austin Riley hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning against Huascar Brazobán that sent the Mets to a 5-4 loss.

“It feels bad, especially being the catcher on the team after feeling we had control the majority of the game,” Francisco Alvarez said after the Mets lost their fourth straight. “As a catcher you feel some responsibility for it.”

Alvarez missed an opportunity in the 10th inning when automatic runner Luke Williams started to third base on a pitch in the dirt.

Williams stopped between the bases and would have been easily nailed if Alvarez threw to third, but the catcher instead fired to second.

“I really think that play is a reaction play, and my reaction was to second base,” Alvarez said. “I saw the runner going back and I thought to throw to second base. But now after the play I think it would have been better to eat the ball on that play.”

Brazobán intentionally walked Ronald Acuña Jr. to begin the 10th, with the automatic runner at second base.

After Alex Verdugo was retired, Williams reached third on the Brazobán wild pitch on which Alvarez threw to second.

Matt Olson walked to load the bases before Riley ended it with a drive that Tyrone Taylor caught at the center field fence.

David Peterson, after seven strong innings, returned to the mound for the eighth with a 4-1 lead, but was removed after walking Nick Allen and allowing a single to Acuña to begin the frame.

Reed Garrett surrendered a single to Verdugo that loaded the bases and recorded two outs before Marcell Ozuna smashed a bases-clearing double on a splitter to tie it.

Garrett wanted to throw a fastball with two strikes, but Alvarez overruled him and called for the splitter.

“[Garrett] changed the pitch, and I made maybe a mistake in that situation,” Alvarez said. “I feel very badly for that.”

But Garrett defended his catcher.

“It’s easy to look back and think that we threw the wrong pitch,” Garrett said. “But Alvy called my swing-and-miss pitch. I could have executed a little bit better. We could have gotten a little bit luckier.”

Peterson allowed three earned runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts over seven innings and threw 93 pitches.

It followed a complete-game shutout last week against the Nationals. The lefty has pitched at least seven innings in four of his past five starts.

“I didn’t put us in a great spot with the start of the eighth,” Peterson said. “It’s a good team over there and they were able to fight through until the end.”

There was also misfortune on the bases for the Mets: Juan Soto was doubled off first base after leading off the ninth with a single.

Pete Alonso hit a shot that Acuña caught leaping at the wall and Soto, unsure if the ball hit the fence, was late retreating to first base.

He argued that first base umpire Edwin Jimenez delayed in signaling the ball was caught.

“The goal is look to the umpire and make sure he makes the right call, but I just feel like he took way too long to make the decision,” Soto said. “He just put me in a tough spot.”

Soto smashed a slider from Spencer Schwellenbach for a homer in the first inning that produced the game’s first run.

It was the fifth homer in June for Soto, who began the night with a 1.146 OPS for the month.

Taylor’s bloop double in the second extended the Mets lead to 3-0.

Jeff McNeil singled leading off and Alvarez walked before Taylor, with two outs, hit a soft fly to right that landed just in front of the diving Acuña for two runs.

Acuña drew a two-out walk in the third that led to the Braves pulling to within 3-1.

Eli White and Olson followed with successive singles against Peterson.

But with runners on the corners, the left-hander escaped by getting Riley on a hard grounder to third base for the fielder’s choice.

Taylor jumped on an 0-2 splitter from Schwellenbach in the fifth and cleared the left field fence for his second homer of the season, extending the Mets lead to 4-1.

“It’s a tough loss,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Especially with the way we put together some really good at-bats against a really good pitcher who has been tough on us, going back to last year. And even after that they got the bases loaded and [Garrett] gets two outs and gets two strikes on Ozuna. They are good. Ozuna is a good hitter and he got a splitter off the plate and kept it fair.”