Braves bid to continue dominance of struggling Mets

Francisco Lindor said he believes a good week can change the perception of the New York Mets.

Lindor and the Mets already know the impact that can be made by a bad week -- or two.

The Mets again will try to snap out of their lengthy slump Wednesday night when they host the Atlanta Braves in the third contest of a four-game series.

Clay Holmes (7-4, 3.04 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against fellow right-hander Didier Fuentes (0-1, 7.20), who will make his second big league appearance.

Matt Olson's two-run single snapped a tie and capped a five-run sixth inning in the Braves' 7-4 victory over the Mets on Tuesday.

Atlanta improved to 5-0 against New York this season, and the loss was the 10th in the last 11 games overall for the Mets.

New York had the best record in baseball at 45-24 and held a 5 1/2-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the National East on June 12 but have fallen into second place, 1 1/2 games behind the Phillies.

Still, there were glimmers of optimism Tuesday for the Mets.

Frankie Montas, who had a 12.05 ERA in six rehab starts as he recovered from a lat injury he suffered in spring training, threw five scoreless innings. The scoreless effort was the first by a New York pitcher since David Peterson threw a shutout against the Washington Nationals on June 11.

New York also got production from the bottom of its order in the fifth inning. No. 6 hitter Jeff McNeil lofted a sacrifice fly, and eighth-place hitter Brett Baty hit a two-run single in the fourth inning. The Mets entered Tuesday with just 112 RBIs from the bottom four batters in their lineup.

"We're one week away from looking completely different," said Lindor, who grounded out as the potential tying run to end the game.

"At the end of the day, I believe in what we have here. The guys are going to continue to stay together, they're going to continue to fight, continue to play for each other."

The win continued an unusual season for the Braves, who are 37-41 despite a run differential of plus-29 -- by far the best run differential of any sub-.500 team in the majors.

Atlanta opened June with a seven-game losing streak, its second seven-game skid of the season, but has won 10 of its last 14 contests.

The current stretch includes five straight wins over the Mets, whom the Braves have outscored 27-11.

Olson's decisive hit was among the four two-out RBIs collected Tuesday by the Braves, who have 12 two-out RBIs against the Mets this season.

"It feels like our brand of baseball," Olson said. "It's kind of been the difference of just rolling some stuff together on offense."

Holmes took the defeat against the Braves last Thursday after allowing three runs over 4 2/3 innings in the Mets' 7-1 loss. He is 1-1 with a 2.30 ERA in 11 career games (one start) against Atlanta.

Fuentes, who turned 20 on June 17, lost his big league debut on Friday after giving up four runs over five innings as the Braves fell to the Miami Marlins 6-2.