Mets hoping for better results this time around in Atlanta

The Mets return to Atlanta on Tuesday for the first time since their humiliating three-game sweep last season that cost them the National League East title.

After dropping three straight to the Blue Jays over the weekend, how do the Mets (30-30) turn this season around and show Atlanta they mean business in the division?

“Win,” said Pete Alonso.

But that’s proved easier said than done for the Mets in Atlanta.

Last season on Sept. 30, the Mets arrived at Truist Park needing one win to sew up the division. They had Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt lined up to face Atlanta but lost all three games. They ended up as a 101-win wild-card team before dropping two of three games to San Diego in the Wild Card series despite playing all three games at Citi Field.

This time, the Mets go in as the third-place team in the NL East, 5 1/2 games behind Atlanta. They will start Carlos Carrasco, Scherzer and Justin Verlander against Atlanta’s Bryce Elder, Charlie Morton and Spencer Strider.

Big games? For Atlanta, nah. For the Mets, yes.

“Every game is big for us,” Alonso said, “and we just need to take as many wins as we possibly can. It’s that simple: play well, win ballgames.”

The Mets did not do either this weekend against the Blue Jays following a three-game sweep of the Phillies. The Mets scored five runs total against Toronto — four of them in Sunday’s 6-4 defeat — and looked particularly annoyed after coming back from a 4-0 deficit to tie it on four solo home runs only to lose anyway.

“They’re all frustrating in their own different ways,” Alonso said. “Nothing’s more frustrating than another. I mean, we fought hard. I thought we played decent ball, but we fell short three days in a row. It’s not great. It’s frustrating. 100%, it is. Just the whole weekend, they pitched well. They hit well. I thought we pitched well and hit well. It’s just that they were a little bit better.”

Atlanta has been a little bit better than it was at this time last season. On June 6, 2022, the Mets were 38-19 and led Atlanta (28-27) by nine games.

The Phillies, who ended up as the NL champions, were 25-29. So even though it’s starting to feel late, on the baseball calendar it’s still relatively early.

Atlanta just won two in a row over Arizona after going through a stretch in which it was 8-13. On Sunday, Atlanta used a two-out, ninth-inning, walk-off grand slam by Eddie Rosario to earn a thrilling 8-5 victory.

“I liked how we hung around in that game,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said, according to The Associated Press. “That showed the kind of mettle we have and what these guys are made of.”

The Mets like to think they are made of good stuff and are just going through a difficult time with inconsistent play in all phases of the game, especially offensively.

It doesn’t get any easier on Tuesday. Elder, a 23-year-old rookie righthander who has never faced the Mets, leads the majors with 1.92 ERA.

“Obviously, the first thing [missing] is consistency offensively that we know guys are capable of,” manager Buck Showalter said. “We haven’t been able to put that together. And then what happens? Then you have a game where you don’t play well defensively. Then you have a game where you don’t pitch well. It’s a constant chase for having perfection in every phase of the game. We know it doesn’t happen, but we’re capable of better.”