Mets' Dedniel Nunez melts down in the seventh as club ends road trip with loss to Atlanta
Mets pitcher Dedniel Nunez throws during the seventh inning against Atlanta at Truist Park on Aug. 12, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. Credit: Getty Images/Todd Kirkland
ATLANTA — Zac Thornton allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings and the Mets hit three solo home runs but Dedniel Nunez gave up back-to-back blasts in the seventh and allowed three runs in one-third of an inning in a 6-3 loss to Atlanta at Truist Park. The Mets (53-69), who won six of their first seven games after the Aug. 3 trade deadline, have lost two in a row. They went 6-3 on their three-city road trip.
Tyler Mahle pitched six strong innings and Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Riley hit back-to-back homers during the three-run seventh for Atlanta, which is 73-48 — and 60-25 when hitting at least one home run.
Riley was 3-for-4 with two runs and Ronald Acuna Jr. had two hits, an RBI and two runs. Drake Baldwin had three singles and an RBI.
Mahle (4-9) picked up his first win in his second start after coming from San Francisco. He gave up one run and four hits in six innings with seven strikeouts. His lone blemish came on a home run from Luis Torrens in the sixth. In two appearances with Atlanta, he has given up one run in 12 innings.
Thornton (3-3) struck out two and walked one.
Luis Robert Jr. homered in the seventh off Dylan Dodd to cut Atlanta’s lead to 3-2. Dylan Lee pitched a scoreless eighth and Raisel Iglesias gave up a solo home run to Bo Bichette in the ninth. After Bichette’s homer, the Mets had runners on first and second with no one out, but Jared Young grounded into a fielder’s choice, Francisco Alvarez fouled out and Marcus Semien grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game. Carson Benge was 2-for-4 with a double and extended his on-base streak to 16 games.
