ATLANTA (AP) Kelly Johnson drove in the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning, Yoenis Cespedes homered for the eighth time in 11 days and the NL East-leading New York Mets won their sixth straight with a 6-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves 6-4 on Saturday night.
New York, which trailed 1-0 in the first, leads the majors with 14 comeback wins since Aug. 1. Since July 1, the Mets are 25-11 on the road, best in the majors over that span. They padded their division lead over Washington to 9 1/2 games with 20 games to play.
Travis d'Arnaud led off the ninth with a ground-rule double against Arodys Vizcaino, and pinch-runner Eric Young Jr. scored from second on Johnson's single for a 5-4 lead. Cespedes added an infield RBI single.
Atlanta rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the eighth after a dominant Noah Syndergaard was lifted, when pinch-hitter Adonis Garcia hit a three-run homer off Tyler Clippard.
Closer Jeurys Familia earned his 40th save in 45 chances with a perfect ninth.
The Braves dropped to 14-45 since July 8 and have lost 11 straight games at home for the first time since the franchise moved from Milwaukee in 1966.
Cespedes' 34th homer, a solo shot off Edwin Jackson, made it 4-1 in the top of the eighth.
Since being acquired in a July 31 trade with Detroit, Cespedes is one the majors' best, hitting .313 (52 for 166) with 16 homers, 41 RBIs and 35 runs scored in 39 games.
Syndergaard looked fresh while making his first start in 13 days, giving up two hits, one run, one walk and striking out eight in seven innings.
He retired 19 of the last 20 batters he faced after Freddie Freeman's RBI single put the Braves up 1-0 in the first. The only one to reach, Jace Peterson in the fifth, was thrown out by left fielder Michael Conforto trying to stretch a single into a double.
Syndergaard has 137 strikeouts, most by an NL rookie, but he pitched a rare gem on the road. He had gone 1-5 with a 4.91 ERA in his first 10 road starts.
Braves starter Williams Perez allowed eight hits, three runs, three walks and struck out three in six innings. Perez, who has an 8.79 ERA over his last eight starts, struggled badly in the fourth and fell behind 2-1.
After David Wright's RBI single made it 1-all, Perez called for d'Arnaud's infield popup but let the ball drop in front of him. D'Arnaud, however, was ruled out on the infield fly rule and both runners stayed put. But Perez threw a pair of wild pitches to Johnson that scored Wright from third for a 2-1 Mets lead.
D'Arnaud, who has 38 RBIs in 51 games and seven in his last seven games, drove in a run to make it 3-1 in the sixth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
METS: 1B Lucas Duda wasn't in the lineup but drew a pinch-hit walk in the ninth. Wright will get Sunday off. Manager Terry Collins is giving both players extra rest.
BRAVES: Gonzalez has yet to decide if RHP Mike Foltzynewicz (ribs) will work as a starter or a reliever when he's eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list next week.
UP NEXT
METS: Jonathon Niese (8-10) is 8-6 with a 3.24 ERA in 20 career starts against Atlanta.
BRAVES: Ryan Weber (0-1) will face New York for the first time.
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