ATLANTA — Jacob deGrom took a shutout into the ninth inning, Pete Alonso homered to highlight the first four-hit game of his young career, and the Mets routed the first-place Atlanta Braves 10-2 on Tuesday night.
Bouncing back from an ugly 12-3 loss in the series opener, the Mets pounded Braves starter Julio Teheran for six runs over four innings and cruised to a victory that eased some of the tension from a disappointing season.
DeGrom (4-6) dominated a potent Braves lineup that powered the team to 10 wins in its previous 11 games. The 2018 National League Cy Young winner allowed just five hits, struck out 10 and helped himself at the plate, leading off the sixth with a double and coming around to score.
“He’s the best pitcher in baseball,” Atlanta slugger Freddie Freeman said. “He was still throwing 97, 98 m.p.h. in the seventh inning. He had that little something extra tonight, and we caught the brunt of it.”
Freeman and Josh Donaldson hit back-to-back homers off deGrom in the ninth, ending a bid for the second shutout and fourth complete game of his career. Robert Gsellman came on for the beleaguered Mets bullpen to strike out the final two Atlanta hitters.
“A win was important,” said Mets manager Mickey Callaway, who called a meeting with his slumping team before the game. “I don’t care how many runs we scored. If we had won 2-1, it would’ve been the same to me.”
Alonso’s R.B.I. double in the third sparked a four-run outburst that got the Mets rolling toward their second win in six games. The rookie first baseman finished off Teheran with a two-run shot in the fourth, launching a 426-foot drive to give the Mets a 6-0 lead.
Alonso also had a double in the first, a walk in the sixth and an infield single in the seventh to complete his big night.
Michael Conforto added another long homer in the eighth, driving one toward the Chop House restaurant in right field while Matt Joyce barely moved as the ball sailed over his head. Jeff McNeil went deep in the ninth to finish off the 15-hit barrage.
Conforto and Todd Frazier both batted in two runs. McNeil chipped in with three hits, and every Mets starter had at least one.