NEW YORK -- After New York Mets captain David Wright produced a game-tying RBI single in the seventh inning, he blurted an expletive to nemesis Freddie Freeman upon arriving at first base.

Wright and Freeman both downplayed the exchange afterward as friendly banter.

Freeman had just produced a game-tying, two-run double in the top half of that inning. He also delivered a tiebreaking three-run homer in the ninth against Jeurys Familia as the Atlanta Braves rallied to beat the Mets 6-3 in Wednesday's rubber game at Citi Field.

Jeurys Familia gave up a three-run home run to Freddie Freeman in the ninth inning on Wednesday. Bill Kostroun/AP

Freeman, who started the game on the bench with wrist discomfort, now has 15 homers and 61 RBIs against the Mets since the start of the 2012 season. That long ball total matches Miami's Giancarlo Stanton for the most against the Amazin's during that span. The RBI total is the most against the Mets during that four-year period by a sizable margin. Philadelphia's Ryan Howard is second with 48.

"I have animated conversations with a lot of people," Wright said about his exchange with Freeman. "Freddie is a thorn in our side. It's fun to get that competitiveness back and forth. I wasn't expecting to see him tonight. He comes off the bench and kills us again. So I'll be glad to get rid of him and Andrelton Simmons and everybody else that beats us up over there. Freddie came in and singlehandedly beat us tonight. That's why he is who he is. It just seems like he elevates his game against us."

Told it looked as if the expletive he said to Freeman was said in anger, Wright grinned and added: "In what? In anger? I am angry at him. He hit a two-run double and then a three-run homer. I am angry at him, but more in a playful way. Freddie and I, we go back and forth every now and then. It's nothing more than just competitive banter."

Manager Terry Collins said he was caught off-guard when Freeman pinch hit in the seventh inning against Addison Reed and delivered a two-run double that tied the score at 3.

"We heard before the game that his wrist is really bothering him and they didn't think he was going to play," Collins said. "So I'm going to fire that scout, I'm going to tell you that."

Said Freeman: "The wrist has been bothering me for a couple of weeks now, and it's gotten progressively worse. I'll be playing through pain for the next nine days."

As for the three-run homer in the ninth, Familia simply left a splitter up in the zone. Familia had allowed only one earned run in his previous 25 innings.

"I wanted to throw it lower," the closer said. "I missed a little in the zone. And he made good contact. That's all."

Said Collins: "His split has been outstanding. He left it up to Freddie. If the ball is down, he gets a double play or gets a groundball or gets a swing and miss. He left it up in the hitting area, and he did what good hitters do."