Braves move into first place with 4-2 win over Mets

The Atlanta Braves landed the first punch Friday night handing Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets a 5-2 loss to pull into a tie for the NL East lead. The Braves again control their own destiny and can move a step closer to a fifth-straight division crown with a win Saturday. It won’t be an easy task as they will have to figure out how to solve Max Scherzer who will get the start for New York. The Braves will go with right-hander Kyle Wright.

We will be updating this article with pregame and postgame coverage so be sure to check back throughout the day.

• Updated National League Playoff Picture heading into play Saturday

The overall picture didn’t change, but the NL East race and the battle for the final two wild card spots tightened. The Braves pulled even with the Mets in the NL East race, but needs to win the next two games to secure the tiebreaker advantage. If Atlanta wins one of the next two, then they would need to finish ahead of the Mets in the standings to secure the division title.

The Padres, Phillies and Brewers enter play Saturday separated by 1.5 games for the final two wild card spots.

• Brian Snitker and Austin Riley discuss the importance of winning Friday’s series opener

“To get the first one is huge. You just try to build as much momentum off of it as possible. You come out fighting and top to bottom did a great job. Arms did great, just a solid win.”

Some quick thoughts on Friday’s big win including how Max Fried is using a five-pitch repertoire to find success

One reason why Fried has been great this year? He is legitimately attacking hitters with a five-pitch mix. Yes, about a third of his pitches are four-seamers, but for the other two-thirds, hitters can’t sit on any specific offering.

Marcell Ozuna will start at DH Saturday against the Mets. Ozuna is hitting .310/.370/.524 with a 149 wRC+ in 13 games in September.

Dansby Swanson and Matt Olson both homered off of Max Scherzer as the Atlanta Braves defeated the New York Mets 4-2. The win was Atlanta’s 99th of the season and moves them into sole possession of first place in the NL East standings.