Mets celebrate America’s 250th with four-game series in Atlanta

The New York Mets (36-51) return from a brief stint in Canada to face their division rivals, the Atlanta Braves (50-35). The Mets, if you can believe it, actually took two out of three from the first place Braves at Citi Field in June. You can probably believe this, but it’s the last time the Mets won a series, and it represents one of only two series the Mets won since the start of June.

If you thought that the June Swoon might have been the cause of the team’s problems, well think again because the Mets kicked off July with a putrid effort in a 9-3 loss on Canada Day at Rogers Centre. It capped off a series loss in which they fell 2-1 on Monday but blanked the Blue Jays 3-0 in their lone victory.

Despite escaping with one victory in the three-game set, the offense yet again remained the biggest culprit. New York scored seven runs across the three games, with six of the seven coming via the home run. The team also did not record a single hit with runners in scoring position, going hitless in 17 tries across the series and leaving 17 runners on base. Most glaring of all was the Monday game, when they went 0-for-9 and left 7 on base, and given that they lost by one run, they squandered several chances to steal the game from Toronto. Dating back to their loss on Sunday against the Phillies, New York is 2-for-25 with RISP over their past four games.

On the bright side, I mentioned the home runs, and Francisco Lindor contributed two of the five. In doing so, he doubled his home run total on the season, with two now post-IL to match the two he hit before landing on the injured list. In addition, Carson Benge hit his tenth of the year in yesterday’s loss, a two-run blast that got New York on the board. Lastly, both Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens homered in Tuesday night’s victory.

The big story from the week was Steve Cohen joining Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman on a podcast and confirming that David Stearns is safe for the duration of his five-year deal (for those keeping track, he’s currently in the middle of year five of the contract). I’d argue that it’s not really a surprise, as Cohen is committed to Stearns’ vision and also is probably in no hurry to have to fill that role again after how long he waited to get Stearns away from the Brewers.

Fans have been out in full force against the team’s President of Baseball Operations, but it also makes no sense to cut bait now, especially close to both the draft and the trade deadline. Cohen’s comments, at the very least, put all questions to bed and turn attention to Stearns fixing this mess. Cohen did express a lot of disappointment at the team’s play and the position they currently find himself in, so while he essentially said Stearns is safe (for now), that was not necessarily a glowing endorsement of the work he’s done over the past two years, given the team’s current position. However, fans should get comfortable with Stearns at the helm for the next two seasons, which will include navigating a potential lockout.

There is, perhaps, no team in baseball happier than the Braves to see the calendar turn from June to July. Atlanta started the month by going 5-2 but ended it by dropping 12 of their final 16 games, bringing their overall record in June to 9-14. They have gone 1-1 so far in July and ended up dropping two out of three in their series with the Cardinals.

The Braves’ offense was putrid in June, which resulted in their sub-.500 record. They posted the lowest wRC+ (65) and scored the fewest runs (77) of any major league club. They also hit the fewest home runs in the month (19) and had the lowest OPS (.599). Their rotation was not any better in June, as they posted a 5.69 ERA, which is somehow even worse than the Mets’ ERA for the month (5.46), and is the fifth-worst mark in the majors. Their bullpen is just about the one aspect of their game that didn’t fall apart in June, as their relievers posted a 2.14 ERA, which is the best mark in the majors.

Friday, July 3: Christian Scott vs. Grant Holmes, 7:15 PM EDT on WPIX

Scott (2026): 45.0 IP, 53 K, 21 BB, 5 HR, 3.20 ERA, 3.93 FIP, 79 ERA-

Scott made his first start in 15 days after landing on the IL with a right hip impingement and was relatively effective against the Phillies. He lasted 4 1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs on three hits. He struck out six in the game and walked just two. In the end, he needed 82 pitches and threw 54 of them for strikes. He did not seem to be suffering any ill effects from his injury and is set to make his next turn against the Braves. He has continued to be one of the lone bright spots for New York and has established himself as one of the faces of the club’s future.

Holmes (2026): 77.1 IP, 69 K, 37 BB, 14 HR, 3.96 ERA, 5.19 FIP, 94 ERA-

Holmes made his first relief outing his last time out, going four scoreless innings while limiting the Giants to one hit. Atlanta put him in the bullpen because he had failed to go deep in any of his previous three starts (3 2/3 innings, two innings, and 4 2/3 innings). This outing was by far his most effective of the four, and he showed enough that the Braves feel comfortable plugging him right back into the rotation after that brief reset.

Saturday, July 4: Sean Manaea vs. Chris Sale, 8:08 PM EDT on FOX

Manaea (2026): 63.0 IP, 64 K, 22 BB, 6 HR, 4.71 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 117 ERA-

Manaea bounced back from a rocky (and short) start against the Cubs by holding the Blue Jays to two runs on three hits in 5 2/3 innings pitched. Unfortunately, he was bitten by a misplay to start the game, which resulted in a little league home run and put him behind one batter into his start. That was enough to saddle Manaea with his third loss of the year, despite the solid showing. Since being inserted back into the rotation on June 13, he has a 4.05 ERA and a 2.91 FIP in 20 innings across four starts, so at the very least he’s gotten his season back on track following the rough stretch in the bullpen to begin the year.

Sale (2026): 90.0 IP, 109 K, 22 BB, 6 HR, 2.10 ERA, 2.55 FIP, 50 ERA-

The 2024 NL Cy Young winner is having a really strong season for the Braves. He currently owns the third-best ERA (2.10) and FIP (2.55) among NL starting pitchers with at least 90 innings pitched in 2026. He’s also third in HR/9 (0.6), fourth in K% (29.6%), and seventh in BB% (7.0%). He’s probably right behind Jacob Misiorowski and Cristopher Sánchez in the Cy Young race right now, but it’s still impressive to see what he’s doing at 37 years old. He suffered a loss in his last start to the Giants, as he allowed two runs (one earned) on eight hits over six innings. In the loss, he reached double digits in strikeouts for the second time this season. He’s also been able to give Atlanta a lot of length this year, pitching into the sixth inning in 13 of his 15 starts. He’ll be happy to see the Mets, as he owns a 1.97 ERA in 32 career innings across five starts against the Mets.

Sunday, July 5: Nolan McLean vs. Martín Pérez, 12:30 PM EDT on NBC/Peacock

McLean (2026): 95.1 IP, 113 K, 36 BB, 10 HR, 3.78 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 93 ERA-

McLean enjoyed his best start of the season and looked like the ace the Mets were hoping he would be this year. The right-hander tossed six shutout innings against the Blue Jays, scattering five hits while walking two and striking out seven. The effort was good enough to get him his fifth win against five losses this year, which matched his win total from 2025. The outing also highlights a really fascinating split from the right-hander’s season. So far, he owns a 2.49 ERA in eight road starts while pitching to a much less palatable 5.03 ERA in nine starts at Citi Field. It’s curious to see just how much better he’s pitching away from home, but hopefully that trend continues, at least for this next go-around.

Pérez (2026): 77.0 IP, 61 K, 30 BB, 9 HR, 3.27 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 78 ERA-

Pérez is coming off of a couple of tough outings. His last time out, he was charged with four earned runs on five hits over five innings in a loss to the Cardinals. Prior to that, he was charged with three earned runs on four hits over four innings in a loss to the Padres. In those two starts, he walked seven while striking out five. He also surrendered three homers in the two losses after giving up six homers in his first 15 starts. He did very well against the Mets on June 13, limiting New York to one earned run on four hits over 5 1/3 innings. It ended up being the only game the Braves won in their trip to Citi Field.

Monday, July 6: Freddy Peralta vs. Reynaldo López, 7:15pm on SNY

Peralta (2026): 95.1 IP, 92 K, 38 BB, 13 HR, 4.81 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 119 ERA-

Peralta continues to be really maddening for the Mets this year. He was tagged for five earned runs on seven hits against the Blue Jays as he picked up his seventh loss of the year. He walked three and struck out four, and again failed to pitch deep into a game. With the club all but out of it, Peralta is almost sure to be moved by the trade deadline, so his performance over the next few weeks will basically just be used to increase his value and help New York recoup some (hopefully) top prospects.

López (2026): 51.2 IP, 46 K, 22 BB, 6 HR, 3.31 ERA, 4.17 FIP, 79 ERA-

López has bounced back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen this year but appears to be sticking in the rotation for now. He is coming off one of his best showings this year, as he held the Cardinals to one earned run on two hits over five innings of work. He walked just one and struck out six, and the result was his fourth win of the season. It was just the fourth time this year that the right-hander completed five innings of work or more.