Time is running out.
Fighting for their playoff lives, the Braves dropped below .500 for only the second time in four days and the third time all season after a 5-0 loss to the Mets Friday night at Turner Field.
The Braves started with a season-opening loss to the Brewers. They had a winning record until Tuesday’s loss to the Nationals. They now find themselves below .500 again as they falter to stay alive for a postseason berth.
The Braves (76-77) are staggering toward the season’s finish. Their tragic number for playoff elimination now stands at three games following the loss and the Pirates come-from-behind win over the Brewers. With just nine games remaining in the season, the Braves postseason chances are bleak as they fell to 24-34 since the All-Star Break.
The Braves’ offense continued to struggle with only the final Friday Night Fireworks of the year lighting up the sky. The Braves have scored just 10 runs in their last seven games, six of which have been losses. They have now been shut out 15 times this season.
“It seems like it’s really hard to get runs on the board right now,” Andrelton Simmons said. “It’s frustrating.”
With such offensive woes, one pitching mistake can make the difference. It did Friday.
The Mets got the two-out hit. The Braves did not.
The Mets broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the top of the sixth inning. Lucas Duda crushed a two-run, two-out homer to right field off Braves starter Julio Teheran. Duda’s 28th homer of the season came after Daniel Murphy hit a one-out ground-rule double, his third of four hits on the night.
For the Braves, Christian Bethancourt came up twice with two out and two on and failed to deliver. He hit a sharp grounder to second to end the first inning and a fly ball to center to end the third inning, both times with runners on first and second. Justin Upton ended the fifth inning with a strikeout in the same situation.
“One pitch,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “Usually, I think I’m a broken record here, if your starter gives us two runs you have a chance to win the game. We didn’t score runs so those two runs they hang on Julio are big. He pitched good. (Lucas) Duda’s a dangerous guy, a big, strong guy. He hit it out of the ball park.”
Local product Zach Wheeler (11-10) worked six innings for the Mets, allowing no runs and five hits while striking out seven for the victory. Still some bad news for the Mets, they were officially eliminated from the postseason with the Pirates victory.
Teheran (13-13) worked seven innings for the Braves, allowing two runs, seven hits while striking out six in the loss. The Braves offense has scored a total of just five runs in Teheran’s last five starts. His is 1-4 despite a 2.43 ERA in the span.
“I was trying to do my best and hold them the whole time,” said Teheran, who has a 2.88 ERA. “It was just one mistake that cost me two runs and cost us the game. … It was the pitch that I wanted. I don’t know how he hits changeups, but he got me right there. That is part of the luck that I have.”
Simmons, nursing a left ankle injury, had three of the Braves’ five hits. He never advanced past second base, including following his fifth-inning double. No other Braves player got that far. Only Justin and B.J. Upton also had hits for the Braves.
As if they needed it, the Mets pushed three run across in the ninth inning, the last two with two outs. Reliever Jordan Walden allowed a one-out single followed by three straight walks to force in a run. Luis Avilan came in and got a strikeout but then allowed a two-run single to Eric Young Jr. for the final runs.
“As long as there is a number beside you, you have to keep playing and hang on,” Gonzalez said of the uphill climb that now faces his team. “They know. They know. I don’t think you need to remind anybody what’s at stake on what we can accomplish if we start winning games, start swinging the bats.”
