Juan Soto crushed a three-run, go-ahead homer in the ninth inning and Luis Torrens capped a wild extra-innings sequence with a walk-off double, as the New York Mets escaped Atlanta with a 7–6 win over the Braves.
The victory gave the Mets a split of the four-game road set against the defending NL East champions, a meaningful result for a club that had dropped six straight to Atlanta before snapping that streak earlier this season.
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Soto Punishes Iglesias in the Ninth – His 19th Homer Is the Season’s Defining Swing
With two outs in the top of the ninth, the Mets trailing 3–2, and runners on the corners, Soto turned on a pitch from Braves closer Raisel Iglesias and launched a 430-foot three-run blast to right field – his 19th home run of the season.
The swing flipped a one-run deficit into a two-run lead in a single violent motion, the kind of moment that confirms what serious Mets fans already believe. Full stop.
Earlier in 2026, Soto had a ninth-inning homer in Atlanta overturned on replay in a 3–1 loss – a moment that had the Citi Field fanbase fuming for days after the final call.
This one traveled 430 feet and was never in dispute, landing as both payback and punctuation on one of the great individual rivalries brewing in the NL East.
As this site’s coverage of Soto’s All-Star selection documents, his current season sits at a .971 OPS, the kind of production that makes late-inning situations feel less like coin flips and more like scheduled crises for opposing closers.
He also set an MLB record in June with his 27th career multi-homer game before age 27, breaking Jimmie Foxx’s mark of 26, and he did it against these same Braves.
Devin Williams Nearly Gives It Back – Torrens Bails Out the Bullpen in the 10th
Devin Williams entered the ninth with a two-run lead and almost immediately handed it back, surrendering a leadoff double to Ozzie Albies before Matt Olson connected for a game-tying two-run homer – his second of the night – sending the game to extras tied at 5–5.
The New York Daily News framed the game as the Mets “overcoming themselves,” which is not a flattering framing but is an accurate one given the pattern of late-inning chaos against this opponent.
In the 10th, Luis Torrens ended the conversation with a two-run double that reclaimed the lead for good, sealing the 7–6 final and giving the Mets the series split they badly needed on the road.
Torrens is not a household name in this market, but his double in extras against a team that has tormented this franchise for years carries legitimate weight in the clubhouse and the standings.
The next hard checkpoint is the next Mets–Braves series, where Williams’ late-inning reliability will face immediate scrutiny again given back-to-back near-collapses in early July preceding this contest.
NL East Race – Where the Mets Stand After a Win That Confirms a Shift
Earlier in this same Braves season series, the Mets snapped a 0–6 stretch against Atlanta behind a Soto two-homer game that moved them to 46–34, signaling that the division credibility gap between these clubs is closing in real time.
A split on the road in Atlanta against the defending NL East champions is not a fluke result – it is a data point that belongs in the larger argument about this roster’s ceiling.
The Mets’ bullpen has been the persistent liability in this rivalry, with multiple near-collapses in the previous two seasons making tight wins against the Braves feel more stressful than they should for a club with this lineup.
Soto at the top and a functional offense in extras masked the bullpen problem again Thursday, but the underlying issue does not disappear because the win column moved.
Betting the Mets – What This Win Means for NL East Futures and Soto’s MVP Odds
A road split in Atlanta for a team already sitting at 46–34 will nudge NL East winner futures in the Mets’ favor – bettors tracking division odds should check the sportsbook table above for updated lines, because the market typically moves within hours of results in a tight two-team race.
Soto’s MVP futures are also worth monitoring given his 19 home runs, record-setting multi-homer pace, and habit of delivering in nationally visible spots against premier opponents.
Win total props on the Mets remain interesting at this pace – 46 wins before mid-July projects aggressively toward a postseason line, and results like Thursday’s in Atlanta are the kind of evidence that validates the over. Check the sportsbook table above for current lines before the next series kicks off.
The Verdict – Soto Is Torturing the Braves and the Mets Are Winning Because of It
Juan Soto has made Atlanta his personal proving ground in 2026 – record-setting power numbers, a viral overturned homer already in the rearview, and now a 430-foot, go-ahead, ninth-inning three-run shot off the Braves’ closer. Full stop. The bullpen will keep making these games uglier than they need to be, but the Mets are winning enough of them to matter in the standings.
The next hard checkpoint is the next Mets–Braves series, where Williams’ ability to hold late leads and Soto’s continued torment of Atlanta’s pitching staff will define how seriously this division race needs to be taken the rest of the way. Keep an eye out on NYSD for further updates on Juan Soto and the Mets as this situation develops.
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