Max Scherzer (39-New York Mets), one of the best pitchers in the majors, got his ass handed to him by the No. 1 team in the National League.

Scherzer took the mound against the Atlanta Braves in the 2023 Major League Baseball game at Truiste Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on Aug. 8. Prior to the game, Atlanta was in first place in the National League with a 36-24 record (.600 winning percentage).

Scherzer faced an Atlanta lineup of Ronald Acuña Jr. (right fielder), Matt Olson (first baseman), Austin Riley (third baseman), Sean Murphy (catcher), Eddie Rosario (left fielder), Yoenis Albies (second baseman), Marcell Osuna (designated hitter), Orlando Arcia (shortstop), and Michael Harris II (center fielder).

In the top of the first inning, Scherzer got off to a clean start. He gave up a single, but got the top of the order to “KKK” to end the inning. Keeping the momentum going, he retired the side in order in the second inning, and in the third inning, he gave up one hit, but shut them down with three strikeouts.

Schuerzer was in trouble in the top of the fourth inning, when his team took a 2-0 lead. He was unable to stop the onslaught. A single up the middle and two infield singles loaded the bases for Arcia, who gave up an infield single to make it 2-1.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the team took a 4-1 lead. After getting two outs, Riley was hit by a pitch. With two on and one out, Murphy hit a two-run home run over the left field fence to make it 4-3. The bottom of the sixth followed a similar pattern. Two batters later, I gave up a double to Arcia and then an RBI single to Harris II to tie the game at 4-4. Two batters later, he gave up an RBI single to Acuña Jr. to make it 4-5.

The Mets bench eventually pulled Scherzer and sent reliever Dominic Leon to the mound. Leon got the next batter, Olson, to ground into a fielder’s choice to keep Scherzer off the board. His final line was 5⅔ innings, 11 hits (one home run), no walks, 10 strikeouts, and five runs. His ERA rose to 3.71 from 3.21.

It was Scherzer’s first double-digit earned run allowed this season, with the most recent coming nearly a year ago on May 9 against the Philadelphia Phillies.메이저사이트

Meanwhile, the Mets were unable to hold on to an early lead and fell behind in the middle innings. With the game tied 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Michael Harris II hit a two-run homer to send the Mets to their knees, 5-7. The loss snapped a five-game losing streak and dropped the Mets to 30-32 on the season.