Four home runs told the story at Truist Park on Friday night. Matt Olson hit two of them, and the Atlanta Braves never needed much else, defeating the New York Mets 5-3 before 39,138 fans.
Olson was the engine. He finished 2-for-3 with a walk, two home runs, and two RBI — his 22nd and 23rd home runs of the season, pushing his season RBI total to 54. Michael Harris II opened the scoring in the second inning with a two-run shot to center, 419 feet, with Dubón scoring ahead of him. Harris finished 2-for-4 with two RBI. Ozzie Albies added a solo home run to right in the third, the go-ahead swing that gave Atlanta a lead it would not relinquish. Olson then extended the margin with a solo shot to right center in the fifth and another to right in the eighth, each time pushing the Braves further from reach.
The third inning was the pivot. Juan Soto had tied the game at 2-2 with a two-run homer to left — Ewing scored ahead of him — but Albies answered immediately with his solo shot to right, putting Atlanta back in front 3-2. That was the final_go_ahead_play, and the Braves never looked back. Olson's eighth-inning home run made it 5-2 before Bo Bichette's single to right scored Torrens in the ninth to account for the final margin.
Grant Holmes earned the win, his fifth of the season, working five innings and allowing 2 runs — 1 earned — on 5 hits with 2 strikeouts and a walk, carrying a 3.83 ERA. Christian Scott took the loss — his first of the season — after allowing 3 runs on 2 hits with 4 walks and 7 strikeouts across four innings, with a 3.49 ERA. Raisel Iglesias closed it out with a 1-inning save, his 17th, allowing 1 run on 3 hits with a strikeout, carrying a 1.53 ERA.
Atlanta moved to 50-35, holding first place in the division. The Mets fell to 36-51, fifth in the division. Albies is one stolen base away from 100 in his career. Bichette, who drove in the Mets' final run with his ninth-inning single, is seven hits away from 1,000 in his career.