The Braves were off Thursday but they still lost a little ground in the NL East race.
The first-place Mets, who are 90-55, beat the Pirates 7-1 in New York and increased their lead over the second-place Braves to one game. The Braves (88-55) have one advantage however in that they have played two less games than their rivals.
The Braves went 4-4 on their West Coast road trip that ended Wednesday night, but have lost four of their last five games.
The Mets halted a five-game home losing streak and rebounded from a three-game sweep by the Chicago Cubs in New York.
The Braves begin a three-game home series against the Phillies (80-63) on Friday night. The Mets have three more games against the Pirates (55-89) this weekend.
New York is 6-7 in a 16-game stretch against Washington, Pittsburgh, Miami and Chicago — teams that are all more than 20 games under .500 this season.
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