New York Mets

          Rapid Reaction: Braves 6, Mets 2

          NEW YORK -- Logan Verrett twice pitched gems filling in for Matt Harvey. Verrett’s spot start in place of Jacob deGrom turned out far worse.

          Verrett surrendered a pair of fifth-inning homers and the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 6-2 on Tuesday at Citi Field.

          The Mets’ magic number nonetheless dipped to six and their division lead remained 6½ games thanks to the Washington Nationals' loss to the Baltimore Orioles in D.C.

          Trailing 4-1 in the eighth, the Mets (85-66) loaded the bases with one out. Michael Cuddyer, pinch-hitting for Lucas Duda, followed with a sacrifice fly. Wilmer Flores then grounded out to strand two baserunners. Tyler Clippard, who has struggled of late, allowed a two-run double to pinch hitter Adonis Garcia in the ninth. Clippard has allowed nine earned runs and four homers in his last 8 2/3 innings.

          Verrett coasted into the fifth inning with a 1-0 lead thanks to a solo homer from David Wright against Matt Wisler. Verrett then surrendered a solo homer to Jace Peterson and three-run homer to Hector Olivera in the frame. The Mets decided to intentionally walk Nick Markakis with two outs ahead of Olivera’s long ball.

          Verrett (1-2) departed for pinch hitter Kelly Johnson with the Mets trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth.

          The Braves are now 19-49 in their past 68 games.

          DeGrom is likely to return to the rotation on Sunday in Cincinnati. The Mets decided to skip him Tuesday because they figured his recent struggles could be the result of fatigue.

          Double stuff: Daniel Murphy produced a pair of doubles, giving him 226 for his career. That passed Ed Kranepool (225) for second on the franchise’s all-time list. Wright ranks first with 381 doubles.

          Well-armed: Michael Conforto threw out AJ Pierzynski trying to stretch a hit into a double in the sixth inning. That gave Conforto six outfield assists, which is tied with Washington’s Michael Taylor for the National League rookie lead.

          What’s next: Bartolo Colon (14-12, 4.15) opposes right-hander Williams Perez (6-6, 5.16) in Wednesday’s 7:10 p.m. ET rubber game.