Braves rally from 4-1 deficit to down the Mets 7-5, Michael Harris II leads the way

The long-awaited Michael Harris II breakout game finally happened as the second-year man went 3-4 with a homer to help Braves overcome the Mets 7-5.

• By
  
  Stephen Tolbert
  
• on June 7, 2023 10:29 pm

For the second time in as many games, the Braves overcame an early 4-1 hole to take down Mets, as Michael Harris II the second had arguably his best game of the season in a 7-5 comeback win.

The fireworks started early Wednesday night as Braves’ starter Charlie Morton walked the leadoff man in the top of the first and then hit Pete Alonso in the wrist with a 96 mph fastball. Alonso was forced to leave the game, while the Mets capitalized on the baserunners to grab an early lead after a 2-out RBI single from Brett Baty.

Morton’s struggles continued in the 2nd inning, after getting the first two hitters out, Mets’ rookie Francisco Alvarez launched a 96 mph fastball into the left-field seats for a solo homer, making it 2-0.

Meanwhile, Mets’ starter Max Scherzer started the game in dominating fashion, striking out 7 hitters in the first 3 innings while allowing only soft contact and holding an early 2-0 lead.

The Braves would use more of that soft contact in the 4th inning to score their first run of the night. Austin Riley started things with a line drive single to center, and then the Braves executed three consecutive infield hits, the last from Orlando Arcia, to bring in Riley from third and make it 2-1.

Morton’s struggles continued in the 5th, again after getting the first two hitters out to start the inning, Morton gave a 2-out double to Francisco Lindor and then a 2-out 2-run homer to Tommy Pham, who came in to replace the injured Alsono. For the second consecutive night, the Mets had a 4-1 lead.

But, like last night, that lead wouldn’t be safe for long. In the bottom of the 5th, after Riley lined a single to center, Sean Murphy stepped up and launched a 2-run homer down the left field line, making it a 4-3 game.

After a 1-2-3 inning from Collin McHugh in the top of the 6th, the Braves would tie the game and then take the lead in bottom half of the sixth on three consecutive 2-out hits. Arcia started it with a double to center, Michael Harris II tied it with a line drive double down the right field line, and Ronald Acuña Jr gave the Brave their first lead on the night with an RBI single, making it a 5-4 game.

The drama wasn’t over yet, however. Manager Brian Snitker charged Kirby Yates with handling the seventh inning with a one run lead and it did not go well. With one out, Yates went walk-single-walk to three consecutive batters and then went 3-0 to Tommy Pham before Pham hit a drive to the right-center field gap that would’ve been serious trouble if not for a leaping catch from Acuña. It did, however, allow the runner from third to score on a sac fly, and once again the game was tied.

In the bottom of the 8th inning, Mets’ manager Buck Showalter made the curious choice of letting Ozzie Albies and Marcell Ozuna see a left-handed pitcher and paid the price for it when Ozuna rocketed a double to right field. Two batters later Michael Harris II put his biggest imprint on the night by crushing a 2-run homer 443 feet to dead-center field, giving the Braves a 7-5 lead.

AJ Minter closed out the ninth in 1-2-3 fashion and the Braves had their fourth straight win and secured a series win against their division rivals.

The Braves move to 37-24 on the season while the Mets fall to 30-32. Atlanta will go for a sweep tomorrow night as Spencer Strider faces down Justin Verlander in game 3 of the series.

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