Chris Sale pitched 8 2/3 strong innings and the Atlanta Braves blanked the visiting New York Mets 5-0 on Wednesday.

The Braves have taken the first two games of the three-game series and have won five of their last six. The Mets have lost five straight games, their longest skid of the season.

The Atlanta offense was sparked by home runs from Ronald Acuna Jr., his eighth, and Matt Olson, his 15th.

Sale (5-4) allowed five hits, walked one and struck out seven but fell one out short of notching his first complete game and shutout since 2019. He was removed after Brandon Nimmo hit a two-out pop fly single.

Raisel Iglesias got Luis Torrens to ground into a fielder’s choice, nailing down Atlanta’s fourth shutout of the season.

New York starter Paul Blackburn (0-1) was lifted after 3 2/3 innings and 73 pitches. He allowed four runs, three earned, on four hits and two walks with two strikeouts as his ERA soared to 6.92.

The Braves jumped on top with three runs in the first inning. Acuna hit Blackburn’s first pitch of the game for a home run, a blast that traveled 419 feet to straightaway center field.

Alex Verdugo singled, Austin Riley walked, and both advanced on a groundout. Verdugo scored when a pitch bounced away and catcher Torrens tried to stop it with his mask, an infraction that allowed both runners to advance. Riley came home on Marcell Ozuna’s sacrifice fly to shallow center field.

Atlanta upped the lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning. Ozzie Albies doubled, went to third on a grounder and scored when reliever Jose Butto fired a wild pitch that nearly hit batter Nick Allen as it went to the screen.

Olson crushed a slider for a solo homer in the seventh inning, a 412-foot bomb off Ty Adcock, for a 5-0 lead. Olson, who finished 2-for-4, has reached safely in 19 consecutive games.

New York’s Jeff McNeil went 1-for-3 and has reached safely in his last 20 games, the longest active streak in the majors.

–Field Level Media