Braves take series against struggling Mets

The Atlanta Braves took the series against the New York Mets after a 4-3 win Thursday that deepened the Mets' struggles. Curacao-born Ozzie Albies played a starring role, driving in three of the visiting runs in Queens with a home run and three hits.

Puerto Rican Francisco Lindor opened the scoring for the Mets with a solo homer in the third inning before Albies began punishing Japanese pitcher Kodai Senga, according to AFP. In the fourth inning, Albies evened the score with his 10th homer of the season and in the sixth connected on a single to left field that drove in Drake Baldwin's run.

The Braves, who have been without Venezuelan star Ronald Acuña Jr. since the end of July, fell behind again after Lindor and Dominican Juan Soto scored. The final comeback came in the eighth inning thanks to a double by Michael Harris II and another by Albies that extended the frustration among the 41,782 spectators at Citi Field.

Atlanta went on to win the series 2-1, and the Mets suffered their ninth loss in their last 10 games. Since July 28, the Mets have lost 13 of 15 games and are already five games behind the National League East division leaders, the Philadelphia Phillies.

Guardians win

In other MLB action, the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Miami Marlins 9-4 to win their fifth straight series, this time 2-1. Cleveland had not strung together such a streak in a single season since 2022.

Dominican José Ramírez contributed three hits and a run batted in for the comeback by the Guardians, who began the night with a 3-0 deficit. Venezuelan Gabriel Arias drove in two runs scored by Ramírez.