By MIKE FITZPATRICK
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NEW YORK (AP) — Spencer Schwellenbach struck out a career-best 11 over seven dominant innings of two-hit ball, and the Atlanta Braves stopped a six-game losing streak Saturday with a 4-0 victory against the New York Mets.
“I’m a confident person. I expect to throw good every time I get the ball and I think that’s why I’ve had success. I’m not surprised by it,” Schwellenbach said. “That was needed more than ever and I kind of dug a little bit deeper today.”
Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson hit back-to-back homers in the fourth after Mets starter Tylor Megill retired the first 11 batters in his return from the minors. Orlando Arcia added an RBI single in the fifth after a leadoff walk to catcher Sean Murphy, and Eddie Rosario went deep against Megill (2-5) leading off the seventh.
Atlanta moved back ahead of the Mets for second place in the NL East and the league’s top wild card. The banged-up Braves halted their longest skid since a six-game slide in September 2017 — the final week of Brian Snitker’s first full season as manager. They haven’t dropped seven in a row since August 2016.
“Probably an understatement that we needed a win today,” Snitker said.
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Schwellenbach (4-5) completely shut down a red-hot Mets lineup as the Braves ended New York’s five-game winning streak. He walked none and threw 62 of 89 pitches for strikes in his 10th major league start.
“His fastball was the hardest I think it’s been all year,” Mets slugger J.D. Martinez said. “His stuff was moving everywhere. ... He had everything going.”
Snitker was asked if he thought about letting the 24-year-old Schwellenbach pitch the eighth.
“I don’t know that he’ll see the eighth. We’re looking at total innings in his first full year and things like that,” Snitker said. “He probably could have went nine, quite honestly. But we’ve got to be cognizant of the innings that this kid’s going to rack up, especially because he goes deep in games.”
The rookie right-hander retired his final 10 batters. The only hits he permitted were doubles by Jeff McNeil in the second and Pete Alonso in the fourth.
“That was really impressive,” Snitker said. “He’s been awesome — just the consistency, the innings he’s covered, how he’s done it.”
Joe Jiménez and Raisel Iglesias completed a four-hitter for Atlanta’s 12th shutout, which tied Boston for most in the majors. Rosario helped out with a leaping catch at the left-field fence in the ninth, and Iglesias whiffed Martinez and Alonso with two on to finish a game that took only 2 hours, 13 minutes.
New York, which never advanced a runner to third base, was blanked for the eighth time and fell to 11-4 over its past 15 games. Martinez fanned all four times up, and Mark Vientos struck out all three times.
“That was his best game of the year,” Murphy said about Schwellenbach. “Feels like he’s improved every time out. I don’t say that lightly. I feel like he’s gotten more comfortable and he’s kind of narrowed it in, what we want to do with him. We needed this one today. Spencer took care of it.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: 2B/OF Whit Merrifield (right index finger) won’t be able to play the field until he gets his stitches removed, and Snitker doesn’t think that will happen at least until Atlanta returns home Aug. 1.
Mets: RHP Kodai Senga was placed on the 15-day injured list and is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season with a high-grade left calf strain. New York manager Carlos Mendoza did not rule out a return for Senga this year if the Mets make the playoffs. ... CF Harrison Bader missed his fourth straight game with a sore right ankle. But he was feeling better and was set to go through drills before the game. Mendoza hoped Bader would be available off the bench. ... OF Brandon Nimmo was shaken up after fouling a ball off his left knee in the fourth, but he stayed in the game and said afterward he was fine.
UP NEXT
All-Star RHP Reynaldo López (7-4, 2.12 ERA) starts for Atlanta in the finale of the four-game series Sunday against LHP David Peterson (5-0, 3.14).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
