Garcia's RBI single in 10th lifts Braves past Mets
ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Braves put an end to the New York Mets' winning streak at six games and they did it in dramatic fashion on Saturday night.
Adonis Garcia singled with two outs in the 10th inning to drive in rookie Dansby Swanson and give the Braves a 4-3 walk-off victory.
Swanson singled leading off the 10th inning against Erik Goeddel (1-1) and A.J. Pierzynski followed with a single to put runners on the corners.
Employing a five-man infield after one out, the Mets nearly escaped but Garcia grounded a single through the middle off Josh Smoker to end it.
Matt Kemp and Nick Markakis homered for the Braves, with Kemp reaching 30 for the season, and Markakis also threw out a runner at the plate.
Yoenis Cespedes hit his 29th homer for the Mets, who lost for just the fifth time in their past 20 games.
Mets starter Bartolo Colon, who came in with a 5-1 career record and 1.51 ERA at Turner Field, got a no-decision after giving up the homers to Kemp and Markakis.
The 43-year-old Colon allowed three runs and four hits over six innings before being pulled after 87 pitches. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter.
Kemp's tying homer in the sixth was his seventh in 37 games with the Braves. It came on a 2-2 pitch from Colon and was a mammoth shot that carried deep into the seats past the fence in left-center field.
The Mets threatened to go back ahead in the eighth inning, but Markakis threw out Wilmer Flores, who had a doubled, when he tried to score on pinch-hitter T.J. Rivera's single to right field.
Flores suffered a neck contusion when he hit into catcher A.J. Pierzynski and had to leave the game.
Cespedes broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth with his fourth homer this month. After fouling off a pair of 2-2 pitches with two outs, he picked on a fastball from John Gant and hit a no-doubt smash into the seats in left-center field.
The homer by Cespedes was the only earned run against Gant, who was making his second start after missing nearly eight weeks with an oblique strain. The rookie right-hander allowed three runs, one earned, on four hits and four walks (two intentionally) while throwing 87 pitches in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out six.
The Mets scored two tainted runs in the first inning without the benefit of a hit thanks to Braves errors by third baseman Garcia and second baseman Jace Peterson. The only RBI came on a fielder's choice grounder by Jay Bruce.
Atlanta tied it with runs in the first and fourth innings. Kemp's sacrifice fly drove in Ender Inciarte, who had doubled leading off the bottom of the first, and Markakis smacked the first pitch by Colon in the fourth over the fence in right-center field for his 10th home run.
NOTES: RHP Seth Lugo (3-2, 2.38 ERA) will start for the Mets against Braves RHP Williams Perez (2-2, 4.62 ERA) in Sunday's series finale. ... RHP Jacob deGrom (forearm) and LHP Steven Matz (shoulder) threw off the mound for the first time Saturday since being shut down by the Mets, with deGrom doing so in Atlanta and Matz in Port St. Lucie, Fla. DeGrom made just 10 pitches to test his arm, but manager Terry Collins said that he hopes both will be able to return this month. ... RHP Rafael Montero, a rotation fill-in along with Lugo and RHP Robert Gsellman, will start Monday against the Nationals in Washington. ... RHP Matt Wisler, who tweaked his side on Aug. 31, threw a bullpen session on Friday and will do so again on Sunday in anticipation of a potential return to the Braves rotation on Tuesday.