Braves Report: Gimme five

Are the Braves getting better, or are the Mets really bad right now?

Kind of hard to say. Maybe both.

But five in a row — and 28 out of 38 — is pretty funny stuff. Even if the players won’t acknowledge they have an edge.

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP

Braves pitcher Didier Fuentes watches a fly ball during his debut in Miami.

Half a dozen sounds pretty good, too. This one may take some work.

📺 How to watch: First pitch at 7:10 p.m. on FanDuel Sports.

⚾ The probable starters: Didier Fuentes (0-1, 7.20) vs. Clay Holmes (7-4, 3.04)

📝 The scouting report: Fuentes, the 20-year-old top Braves prospect, gets his second major league start. You’ll recall that he pitched reasonably well against the Marlins on Friday, striking out three over five innings — but surrendering three-run homers will kill ya.

The Braves put up three runs against Holmes last week, chasing him in the fifth inning of a 7-1 win.

IS THIS ELECTION FRAUD?

The first round of fan voting for next month’s All-Star game at Truist Park ends tomorrow (Thursday) at noon.

And if you, personally, don’t do something about it, it’s possible the hometown team fails to get a starter in the game.

⭐ Here’s where key Braves players stood in the voting, as of this week:

• Ronald Acuña Jr: 4th among outfielders (three start)
• Matt Olson, 7th at first base
• Ozzie Albies: 7th at second base
• Nick Allen: 7th at shortstop
• Austin Riley: 6th at third base
• Marcell Ozuna: 6th at designated hitter
• Sean Murphy: 9th at catcher

Now Tyler, you’re probably saying — most of those guys don’t really deserve to start an All-Star game. And you’d be right.

But Acuña’s gonna be there one way or another. You could also make reasonable cases for Matt Olson (.256, 15 homers, 52 RBIs) and Austin Riley (.275, 12 homers, 41 RBIs).

⭐ And all I’m really asking is for y’all to help them get to the next round.

Here’s how that works:

• Voting closes at noon tomorrow. MLB Network will then host a 6 p.m. show revealing the top two vote-getters at each position (the top six for the outfield).
• Those top tandems then square off in a second phase of fan voting, which begins next week. The winner there becomes the starter.

So, uh … go cast those ballots!

Side note: Pitchers are not part of fan voting. With Chris Sale presumably out of the picture, Spencer Schwellenbach is probably the Braves’ best shot at getting an arm in there.

We won’t know about that (or reserves) until July 6.

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT

Marcell Ozuna (left) and Ronald Acuña Jr. celebrate another win in New York.

Spencer Strider — despite his continued improvement and willingness to yell at Juan Soto — put the Braves in a 3-0 hole last night. The Atlanta bats couldn’t get anything going against Mets starter Frankie Montas.

Enter the New York bullpen.

By the end of the night, the Braves had walked nine times and mixed in enough timely hits (thanks Matt Olson!) to get their fifth straight win over the Mets. Final score: 7-4.

So, uh … has this team officially beaten its rival into mental submission?

Not so much, key players told the AJC’s Gabe Burns.

🗣️ Said Olson: “That’s a very talented group, guys who play hard and play the right way. We love squaring off against them, whether it’s here or there. No (mental) edge.”

🗣️ Said manager Brian Snitker: “We’re just playing good baseball against them.”

Whatever it is, it’s working. Against one team, at least.

ALSO, NICK ALLEN RAKES

First of all: Nick Allen’s defense at shortstop has been outstanding. If you’re into advanced stats like “outs above average,” he ranks second in all of baseball.

Secondly: On the rare occasion Allen puts together a solid offensive performance, we’re legally obligated to point it out.

Last night was one of those occasions.

• Allen started 3-for-3 at the plate — and that third single drove in the tying run in the sixth inning.

Other riders on the bottom-of-the-order struggle bus contributed, too: Ozzie Albies with a sacrifice fly, Eli White with an RBI infield single and Michael Harris II with … well, by getting hit in the elbow with a pitch.

Keep it coming, fellas (except for that last part).

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Nick Allen delivering the aforementioned game-tying single.