Mets rise to the occasion for win over Braves after scary Griffin Canning injury

The Mets officially began the second half of their 162-game schedule Thursday night, and they did so by once again picking each other up in the face of injury.

The depleted pitching staff lost another starter — this time Griffin Canning to what the Mets fear is an Achilles injury in the third inning — but they still managed a split of their four-game series against the Braves with their second straight win, a crisp 4-0 combined shutout at Citi Field, following a 1-10 stretch.

“We’re a resilient bunch and we stick together,” said Pete Alonso, who contributed two hits and an RBI. “All well-wishes to Griff, that’s obviously a really tough blow. That’s obviously not good for him, so prayers and blessings to him.

“As a response from the group, it’s awesome. The bullpen was lights out … and we needed that big time. It was a really good team win.”

Four relievers combined for 6 ¹/₃ scoreless frames following Canning’s scary departure for the Mets, who will get third baseman Mark Vientos back from the injured list for Friday’s opener of a three-game series in Pittsburgh.

Despite dropping 10 of 11 before posting a 7-3 win Wednesday night over Atlanta, the Mets have moved back into first place in the NL East with a 48-34 record, a half-game ahead of the Phillies.