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New York Mets’ Rafael Ortega hits a three-RBI single against the Atlanta Braves during the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
NEW YORK (AP) — Rafael Ortega had two hits during a six-run fifth inning Sunday night, leading New York to a 7-6 win over the major league-best Atlanta Braves and preventing the Mets from falling into last place in the NL East.
The Mets, who were outscored 34-3 in the first three games of the series and overcame a 3-0 deficit Sunday, remained a half-game ahead of the Washington Nationals.
New York hasn’t been in the cellar this late in a full season since 2005. The Mets are 22.5 games behind the Braves a year after finishing with 101 wins and in a tie atop the division with Atlanta, which won the head-to-head tiebreaker.
“To beat one of the best teams in baseball — we know they’re operating on all cylinders and giving you their best shot,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “So anytime you can beat them, it’s hard.”
Ortega singled leading off the sixth and hit a two-run single to complete a rally that included four singles and three walks — two with the bases loaded — and a run-scoring catcher’s interference call on the Braves’ Sean Murphy.
“You get people on base, you always want to do more,” Showalter said. “Everybody’s chasing swinging the bat and doing something. Sometimes, what you should be chasing — I’m not saying it’s a walk, it’s selectivity.”
Ortega finished with three hits, one shy of his career high. Jeff McNeil had three singles, including a run-scoring hit in the third.
Kodai Senga (9-6) allowed three runs — all in the first via Marcell Ozuna’s bases-clearing double — and whiffed seven in six innings.
The 30-year-old rookie right-hander is tied with Max Scherzer — who was traded to the Texas Rangers on…
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