


ATLANTA — Jose Quintana needed two outs to complete another respectable start against a top-tier club.
Already, the Mets left-hander in his limited time in the rotation had looked sharp against the first-place Orioles and Braves.
Those two outs in the sixth inning never arrived on Wednesday.
As Quintana surpassed 90 pitches, the Braves continued a rally.
Quintana’s night soon unraveled, all but sealing the Mets’ third loss in four games, 7-0 at Truist Park.
The Mets lost two of three in the series for a 4-3 road trip, which included a stop in St. Louis.
For a second straight night the Mets lineup was muzzled — this time with only three hits recorded against Charlie Morton and the Braves bullpen.
Quintana had allowed only one run into the sixth, but Marcell Ozuna and Sean Murphy delivered run-scoring hits against him to ruin his outing before Vaughn Grissom’s triple against Phil Bickford extended the Braves’ lead to 5-0.
The runs were charged to Quintana, who finished with his worst performance in seven since joining the rotation last month after March rib surgery.
Overall, he allowed nine hits and three walks in 5 ¹/₃ innings. It was the first time in 21 starts Quintana allowed more than three earned runs. It was the longest active streak in MLB.
Ozuna was a destructive force in the series, with four homers and seven RBIs. Included was the two-run blast he hit against Bickford in the seventh that concluded the onslaught.
The Mets finished 3-10 in the season series against the Braves, who are cruising toward their sixth straight NL East title and will likely be the favorites to win the World Series once the postseason starts.
Ozuna’s feasting against the Mets on this night began with an RBI single in the first that gave the Braves a 1-0 lead. Quintana escaped further trouble.
After Murphy walked to load the bases, the left-hander retired Michael Harris II, the seventh batter he faced in the inning. Austin Riley and Matt Olson singled in succession ahead of Ozuna to start the rally.
DJ Stewart’s double in the fifth gave the Mets their first hit against Morton and with two outs Rafael Ortega was hit by a pitch.
But with Danny Mendick at the plate, Stewart was picked off second base on a strong throw from the catcher Murphy.
Ozuna delivered an RBI double in the sixth. Murphy followed with an RBI single that increased the Mets’ deficit to 3-0.