ATLANTA _ Not all series splits are created equal, and the one the Mets ended up with after a 7-3 loss to the Braves on Sunday night was the bad kind.
Heading to SunTrust Park for the start of their 2019 season series against the defending NL East champions, the Mets won the first two games, parlaying significant offensive outputs with good enough pitching to dispatch the Braves with relative ease.
But after a Jason Vargas-induced loss Saturday, the Mets missed out on a series win Sunday when ace Jacob deGrom lasted only five innings and the beleaguered bullpen couldn't keep it close enough.
And so the Mets head to Philadelphia for a three-game set with the Phillies, the next stage of what is going to be a long season of intra-division duels, knowing that this mediocre weekend could have been a sweet one.
It's not a secret to the Mets that it's important to play well against Atlanta, especially in Atlanta. They were 6-13 against the Braves last year, including 3-6 at SunTrust. If they had played, say, .500 or better in those games, the 2018 late-season division picture could have been a lot more fun for the Mets, who finished in fourth.
"We did struggle against them," manager Mickey Callaway said while in Atlanta, rattling off several of the Mets' "crazy games" against the Braves last year. "They took care of us last year. We have to make sure that doesn't happen again.
"They're definitely not overlooked by us. They're one of the best teams in baseball, in my opinion. They showed it last year, they're showing it again this year, they're getting on a roll and they're a force we have to go out there and play the game the right way to beat."
Remarkably, deGrom was unremarkable for a second start in a row. He allowed three runs _ two on solo homers _ in five innings, struggling with a high pitch count all night and retiring the side in order just once. DeGrom (2-2) struck out nine and walked four. His ERA is 3.68.
DeGrom has given up five home runs this season, all in his past two starts. Last year, he didn't allow his fifth until June 23 and allowed 10 in 217 innings (32 starts).
Nick Markakis reached deGrom first, blasting an 0-and-1 slider inside into the right-field seats in the second inning. The next inning, Ronald Acuna Jr. capitalized on Wilson Ramos' error _ Ozzie Albies stole second and moved to third when the throw from Ramos skipped into center _ by singling to right, bringing in Albies.
Josh Donaldson homered to lead off the bottom of the fifth on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, moments after laying off a two-strike slider outside and fouling off two others. After having no homers and no RBIs in his first 13 games, Donaldson went deep two nights in a row to finish the series.
Right-hander Julio Teheran, whom the Braves once thought would be the kind of high-end pitcher that deGrom has become, was the better pitcher this time. He overcame early issues, including a line-drive homer from J.D. Davis in the second, to settle in for six innings of one-run ball.
Amed Rosario and Keon Broxton managed RBI singles in the eighth, but Brandon Nimmo, the potential tying run, struck out swinging to end the inning.
