Matt Olson homers again, Braves rout Mets to split 4-game series
NEW YORK -- Matt Olson homered in consecutive games for the first time this season, and the Atlanta Braves overcame an injury to All-Star starter Reynaldo López in a 9-2 victory against the New York Mets on Sunday.
Austin Riley, Orlando Arcia and Ramón Laureano also went deep for the Braves, who salvaged a four-game split after losing the first two games of the series. They hold the top National League wild card and moved 1 1/2 games ahead of New York for second place in the NL East.
López pitched three shutout innings, lowering his major league-leading ERA to 2.06, before exiting with right forearm tightness. Atlanta already has a string of star players on the injured list.
Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer and Tyrone Taylor doubled twice for New York. Hours before the game, the Mets completed a trade with Washington for outfielder Jesse Winker. He received a nice ovation from the Citi Field crowd before striking out as a pinch hitter in the eighth.
