Braves drop series finale to Mets in extras

Late-inning drama took Truist Park by storm for the second straight day. Once again, the Braves fell to the Mets in a thriller, this time splitting the series.

The Braves mounted a two-run ninth-inning rally to tie the game but succumbed to the funk that has captivated them since early June, falling 7-6 in 10 innings to their National League East foe.

For a second straight day, the Braves’ bullpen allowed five runs late. Rookie Owen Murphy surprisingly made his big-league debut in a high-leverage situation to start the 10th inning and gave up the deciding runs on a two-run single from Luis Torrens with two outs.

Matt Olson restored order at 5-5 with a two-run shot to the opposite field after having a chance to finish off their first series win since June 19-21 in the top of the frame. All-Star closer Raisel Iglesias blew his 35-game save streak after Juan Soto, down to his team’s last out, mashed a go-ahead three-run shot to deep right.

Before Iglesias’s implosion in the ninth, the Braves’ pen worked together three innings of one-run ball after starter Reynaldo López dished out five innings of one-run ball, punching out five and walking two.

The effort was his second straight start of five innings and seventh outing allowing one run or less since a dismal four-run relief outing against the Blue Jays on June 4. His fastball velocity sat in the mid-to-high 90s throughout the outing.

Didier Fuentes was the first arm used out of the Braves’ pen. He worked around traffic on the basepaths to limit the Mets’ damage in the sixth to just one run, thanks to a 7-6-2 relay from Mauricio Dubón, Jim Jarvis and Drake Baldwin, which gunned down Mets shortstop Bo Bichette at the plate.

Dylan Lee and Tyler Kinley each turned double plays that stranded runners in their respective scoreless frames, before the All-Star Iglesias took over in the ninth.