The Mets buried the Braves in a 12-7 victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 40,076 fans on Friday night at Truist Park.

By the time Nolan McLean returned to the mound Friday for the fourth inning — a danger zone for Mets starting pitchers — he had plenty of latitude.

MLB has seen many great pitchers since 1913. There have been multi-time Cy Young winners, All-Stars and standout rookies. Yet, McLean accomplished a feat that hasn't been seen before in the history of the sport.

The Mets have lost back-to-back games entering this series and are 5-13 in August as they continue to struggle. Atlanta though, is hot! The Braves are 7-1 in the past eight games, including going 2-1 versus the Mets on August 12-14. For the year, Atlanta owns the series edge, 7-3.

On a night when the Braves celebrated the 30th anniversary of their 1995 World Series title, Mets rookie starter Nolan McLean earned his second MLB win in as many big league starts and helped New York’s offense spoil Atlanta’s fun.

The Mets and Braves have had a number of climactic late-season series. This… will not be one of them. But it is a chance for the Braves to extend the Mets’ recent misery, something that, should it happen, we will all relish.

WASHINGTON — Adult Nolan McLean is looking forward to his encore. As is Young Nolan McLean, who grew up in North Carolina rooting for the Braves and listed Chipper Jones among his childhood heroes (which also included a few Orioles and Nationals, plus North Carolinian Josh Hamilton).