ATLANTA — Tomas Nido’s bat returned him to the Mets lineup Tuesday, and that weapon of choice may keep him there.
In need of a jolt after his team flushed the lead an inning earlier, Nido launched a go-ahead homer against Will Smith in the ninth that propelled the Mets to their second straight victory, 4-3 over the Braves at Truist Park.
With the Mets’ offseason investment at catcher, James McCann, struggling offensively and the team lacking offense with a depleted lineup, Nido’s bat has suddenly become necessary. He went 3-for-4 in Monday’s game, prompting manager Luis Rojas to stick with him a night later, as the No. 5 hitter.
The victory was a morale booster for a team that placed Kevin Pillar on the injured list before the game with a broken nose, a night after he was hit in the face by a pitch. Pillar became the 12th Mets player on the IL.
“This team has a big heart — all around it’s a big family, everybody is pulling for each other and ultimately that is going to win a lot of games in the season,” Nido said. “Games like this bring us even closer.”
Rojas wasn’t prepared to say if Nido will remain in the lineup Wednesday, but said it’s a possibility.
Nido owns a .265/.342/.529 slash line in 38 plate appearances this season. McCann, who arrived on a four-year contract worth $40.6 million, has a .208/.269/.250 slash line in 104 plate appearances.
“[Nido] is swinging the bat good and I’m going to say he’s earning time to play,” Rojas said. “He’s catching good, swinging well, doing some of the catching leadership out there as well. He’s doing a great job.”
Edwin Diaz got the final three outs in a bullpen game for the Mets that also included Miguel Castro, Tommy Hunter, Robert Gsellman, Trevor May, Aaron Loup and Jeurys Familia.
Marcell Ozuna’s RBI single in the eighth tied it 3-3 after Loup had allowed a leadoff double to pinch-hitter Ehire Adrianza. Familia entered and walked Ronald Acuna Jr. before getting Freddie Freeman to hit into a double play, but Ozuna’s broken-bat single to right tied it.
Freeman greeted May with a 446-foot blast over the center-field fence leading off the sixth to pull the Braves within 3-2. The homer was the second allowed this season by May, who has been the Mets’ most consistent reliever this season. Khalil Lee’s full-extension diving catch on Ozzie Albies’ drive to right-center helped the Mets avoid another threat.
The Braves’ first hit didn’t come until the fifth, when Austin Riley homered leading off the inning against Gsellman. It was the second homer in as many games for Riley.
In his major league debut, left-hander Tucker Davidson gave the Braves a chance, holding the Mets to three earned runs on five hits and one walk over six innings.
Francisco Lindor’s second hit of the game, a double leading off the sixth, led to the Mets taking a 3-1 lead. Dominic Smith singled Lindor to third before Pete Alonso’s sacrifice fly brought in the run.
Jonathan Villar’s two-run homer in the third gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. The blast was Villar’s third of the season and second on the road trip. But the reliever Hunter’s first career hit, a single, ignited the rally.
“I jumped on first like a little leaguer,” Hunter said. “That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever done in the big leagues. I mean, I got a knock in the show.”
Hunter said his last hit came as a high school player in 2005.
“I needed this,” Hunter said. “I don’t even think my son thinks I’m a real baseball player because I don’t get to hit, and he got to see it tonight. It was pretty cool.
“That was the most I have run in probably four years. I don’t like running, so it’s a challenge, but I will tell you what: that is a long way around the bases … I was having fun. That was probably the most childish moment of my career right there.”