Braves can’t recover from 5-0 first-inning hole in another loss to Mets

A five-run first inning by the visiting Mets proved to be too much for the Braves to overcome Monday in an 8-5 loss, the team’s third in the past four games.

The Braves (71-48), who trailed 7-2 after 2 1/2 innings, got the tying run to the plate in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, but couldn’t find the clutch hit. They left nine men on base.

And were playing catch-up all night.

The Mets (53-67) came out swinging against Braves’ starter Bryce Elder, getting a leadoff double to right by A.J. Ewing, and a one-out single by Bo Bichette that scored Ewing from third.

Brett Baty then delivered the inning’s big blow, a two-out grand slam to deep right that put the Mets up 5-0. It was Baty’s first career grand slam, coming off a first-pitch slider.

Elder had nearly avoided all that when it looked like the Braves turned a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play on a 3-2 offering to Carson Benge. Bichette was called out trying to steal second on the pitch — that appeared to be a strike — but was called a ball, resulting in a walk and putting runners at first and second with one out.

The Braves responded in their half of the first, loading the bases with two outs after Ozzie Albies was hit in the jersey on the 11th pitch of his at-bat. Mets starter Christian Scott threw a first-pitch fastball to Mauricio Dubón, who rolled a two-run single into left, cutting the score to 5-2.

That gave Dubón 29 RBIs this season when batting with two outs and runners in scoring position.

Elder, however, continued to struggle in the second, allowing another run — on a Jared Young RBI single — and three more hits along with a two-out walk that loaded the bases. A grounder to first allowed Elder to escape that jam.

Francisco Lindor made it 7-2 in the third, sending a 3-2 cutter 420 feet out to right and into the second level of the Chop House.

Drake Baldwin and Ronald Acuña Jr. had back-to-back RBI singles with two outs in the fourth to get the Braves within 7-4. And in the fifth, Michael Harris II scored on a wild pitch with two outs, making it a 7-5 ballgame.

That would be as close as the Braves, who dropped to 4-7 this season against the last-place Mets, would get.

Elder (8-7) persevered through five innings despite allowing 10 hits and surrendering seven earned runs. The right-hander’s ERA rose from 3.69 to 4.03 after a season-high 105 pitches.

In his past five outings before Monday, Elder had given up just eight earned runs combined. His rough start Monday ended a streak of 18 straight games in which Braves starting pitchers have allowed three earned runs or less.