Ed Note: Paul Zinn originally wrote this game recap on Mets Fans Forever.
It was an old nemesis that finally got to the Mets tonight.
Chipper Jones had the final go-ahead single as the Braves built a lead, fell behind and then rallied for a 5-3 victory over the Mets tonight at Turner Field as both teams opened a four-game series following the All-Star Break.
Starting the second half, the scenario for the Mets is quite simple. They are very much on the fringe of the NL East race, but they simply can’t afford to fall significantly further behind. And tonight 6 1/2 games became a 7 1/2 game deficit (8 in the loss column) in the NL East since the Philles easily defeated the Marlins 4-0.
This looked like a game the Mets might be able to build off. New York battled all game and was certainly in a position to win the contest, which would have been their third-straight victory.
Yunel Escobar and Garret Anderson hit back-to-back homers in the second off Oliver Perez (2-2), but the troubled starter rallied and ended up with a no-decision, throwing six effective innings. In all, he allowed three runs on five hits while striking out six and walking four.
Meanwhile, the Mets found a way to rally, and it was with the help of Braves’ second baseman Martin Prado. Luis Castillo started the fourth with a single that Prado couldn’t handle, and David Wright followed with a single that put runners on the corners.
Prado then could have turned a double play, but instead, he couldn’t come to grips with Gary Sheffield’s grounder, which went for a single and cut the lead to 2-1.
Jeff Francoeur’s RBI groundout and Daniel Murphy’s run-scoring double then gave the Mets a 3-2 lead.
Francouer, returning to Turner Field after just being traded, was resoundly cheered during his first at bat, while Ryan Church, the other part of the deal, didn’t play until pinch running in the eighth.
Church did score an insurance run on Greg Norton’s RBI single in the eighth.
The Braves tied it in the bottom half of the fourth on a double by Matt Diaz. But Perez and the Mets appeared to regain some momentum when the pitcher worked out of a first and third jam with one out unscathed in the sixth and the game still tied.
In the seventh, though, it was Pedro Feliciano, who put the winning run on with a walk, and Bobby Parnell, who allowed pinch hitter Brooks Conrad to score on Jones’ single that proved to be the deciding run.
Derek Lowe, coveted during the offseason in some Mets’ circles, allowed three runs in six innings as the Braves’ starter, but it was Manny Acosta who worked the seventh inning for the victory.
Game two of the series will be tomorrow night at 7:35 p.m. when Mike Pelfrey (7-4) faces Jair Jurrjens (7-7).
Now we are 7 1/2 games back. How many games back do we have to be before we become sellers at the deadline?
It would be nice to try and get something for brian schneider, gary sheffield, alex cora, etc. We won’t get much, but anything would be better than nothing.
Not exactly how we wanted to start the second half, and after hearing the bad news on the injury front from Omar, this is going to be a long summer. The worst part is that Omar sounded like nobody would be back before August, which means it will be too late to make a trade. We need to make a decision soon and it has to be the right decision. Either we make a fight of it and trade prospects for Halladay and Rios, or we become sellers.
The fat lady is singing my friends. Time to face the facts and think 2010.
I was shocked at the resounding ovation that Francoeur received. If you read the posts on a few other sites, they gave you the perception that he was hated and that the fans were running him out of town. That didn’t seem to be the case last night. Looks like the egg heads read it wrong.
Many of the other fan bases in baseball are more respectful of players than is the case in NY. In St Louis players can do no harm and are always golden in every situation. Atlanta is close behind. People are taught to be courteous and that is how they behave. Has nothing to do with actual performance.
As this season continues to fall apart and goes to hell in a hand basket(whatever that means), we should keep a Goats list for the 2nd half.
For last night’s game, I nominate Bobby Parnell. He didn’t get it done and turned control of the game over to the hated Braves right at the critical part of the game.
GOAT: Bobby Parnell
Thanks Paul and Will for sharing your game recap and your thoughts. It was a tough game to watch, and you almost knew the outcome as soon as Parnell gave up that run as theonlymaskman indicated.
I’m still hopeful that things will get better, but they may still get a little worse before that happens.