Game Thread: Mets vs. Braves, 1:35 P.M.

Sunday, August 24, 2025 • 1:35 PM
Truist Park • Atlanta, GA
LHP David Peterson (8-5, 3.18) vs. RHP Bryce Elder (5-9, 6.29)
WPIX • MLBN

The New York Mets go for the sweep Sunday afternoon in Atlanta. On Friday night, the Mets scored 12 runs on 21 hits. Saturday night, the Mets scored nine runs on six home runs. For the second-straight game the Mets had a pitcher go at least six innings. On top of all of that positive news, the Cincinnati Reds lost their third straight game. The Mets enter play Sunday with 2.5 games of breathing room in the wild card race and real opportunity to build on their current momentum.

Mets Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Juan Soto – RF
3. Pete Alonso – DH
4. Jeff McNeil – LF
5. Mark Vientos – 1B
6. Brett Baty – 2B
7. Ronny Mauricio – 3B
8. Luis Torrens – C
9. Cedric Mullins – CF

David Peterson has pitched 144 1/3 innings this season with a 3.18 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 1.240 WHIP, and a 127 ERA+. He’s coming off of a tremendous start where he held the Washington Nationals to only one run over eight innings while striking out 10 batters. Peterson had a terrible start against the Braves on August 13 where he allowed six runs from five hits and tied a season-high with five walks.

The Braves have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Ronald Acuña Jr. 6-20, 2B, HR, 7 BB, 6 K
• Ozzie Albies 3-17, K
• Nick Allen 1-3, 2 BB
• Nacho Alvarez Jr. 1-3, BB, K
• Vidal Brujan 1-1, 2B, BB
• Michael Harris II 2-15, 2B, 7 K
• Sean Murphy 0-8, BB, K
• Matt Olson 5-21, 4 HR, 4 BB, 9 K
• Marcell Ozuna 4-21, 2 HR, 2 BB, 6 K
• Jurickson Profar 5-8, 2 2B
• Eli White 1-5, 2 K

Braves Lineup

1. Jurickson Profar – LF
2. Matt Olson – 1B
3. Ronald Acuña Jr. – RF
4. Marcell Ozuna – DH
5. Ozzie Albies – 2B
6. Michael Harris – CF
7. Nacho Alvarez Jr. – 3B
8. Sean Murphy – C
9. Nick Allen – SS

Bryce Elder has pitched 111 2/3 innings over 21 starts with a 6.29 ERA, 5.00 FIP, 1.558 WHIP, and a 67 ERA+. He’s coming off of a terrible start against the Chicago White Sox where he allowed eight runs from nine hits over 4 2/3 innings. Before that start, though, he was effective against the Mets, holding them to three runs (two earned) over seven innings. The Mets look to figure out a way to hit Elder like many other teams have Sunday afternoon.

New York has the following career stats against Elder:

• Pete Alonso 4-11, 2B, HR, K
• Brett Baty 1-6, BB, 3 K
• Francisco Lindor 6-10, 2 2B, 2 HR, 2 BB
• Starling Marte 1-6, 4 K
• Ronny Mauricio 0-3, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 1-12, BB, K
• Cedric Mullins 1-5, 2B, BB, K
• Brandon Nimmo 2-9, 4 K
• Juan Soto 3-5, HR, BB
• Luis Torrens 0-2

Game Notes

Sunday morning, Bob Nightengale of USA Today wrongly reported that the Mets were expected to take on the Philadelphia Phillies in the Field of Dreams game in 2026. It will be the Minnesota Twins, not the Mets, who play Philadelphia in the game, as Nightengale reported in an updated post.

On Saturday, top right-handed pitching prospect, Jonah Tong, turned in his second straight sensational outing at the Triple-A level. Tong went six innings and struck out eight while walking only one, allowing five hits, and allowed no runs. He induced a hefty 21 swings-and-misses while increasing his scoreless streak to 11 innings to begin his Triple-A career.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Jeff McNeil. McNeil got the offense started Saturday night with a three-run homer and hit the Mets’ last home run of the night. McNeil now has a 131 OPS+, his first time since 2022 that his OPS+ has been over 100. In his last seven games, he has gone 11-for-27 at the plate with three doubles and three home runs, slashing an absurd .407/.429/.852. He will bat in the clean-up spot Sunday.
2. The long ball. The Mets’ lineup has a lot of sneaky power in it. The Mets hit six home runs as players like Brett Baty and Mark Vientos are heating up. New York now has 174 home runs on the season, good for eighth in the major leagues and only four behind the Chicago Cubs. The Mets finished last season sixth.
3. Big games. The Mets have scored 21 runs over the first two games of this series and that only happens when multiple players have big games. In addition to the aforementioned McNeil, Starling Marte and Mark Vientos both had three hits on Saturday. On Friday night, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Tyrone Taylor, and Cedric Mullins each had three hits.

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