On a night the offensive brilliance of Hank Aaron was celebrated, both the Mets and Braves relied on their pitching to try to win this game. In the end, it was Bartolo Colon who would prove the most effective. He pitched masterfully over seven innings to give the Mets a chance to win, as Aaron Harang shutdown the Mets offense most of the night.
A wild pitch plated the Mets first run. And then neither team would score again until the seventh inning, when the Mets strung together hits from d’Arnaud (yes, I said d’Arnaud), Tejada (yes, I said Tejada), and Eric Young (yes, I said EY) to produce two more runs. A fourth run was added in the eighth off another Tejada hit. The Mets held a 4-0 lead with two effective innings by Kyle Farnsworth and Jose Valverde, who overcame poor defense, including his own, to close the door.
Key Play
A wild pitch in the third inning proved to result in the game-winning run.
Starter Focus
Bartolo Colon
Colon is the type of pitchers fielders want to play behind. He throws strikes, works quickly, and gets the job done. The right-hander allowed six hits over seven innings, striking out five, and didn’t surrender a walk.
Aaron Harang
After making Alfredo Simon look good on Sunday, the Mets offense failed to do much against Harang tonight. He struck out 9 Mets in six innings of work. The Mets only managed two hits against the starter, doing most of their damage against the Braves bullpen.
Game Notes
- Travis d’Arnaud broke his 0-16 hitless streak with two hits, one a gift from a poorly played ball in the outfield that turned into a double.
- Terry Collins challenged his second play of the season on a close call at first base, and won again. Juan Lagares had been called out, but was safe. The inning ended up giving the Mets an added run.
- Colon was so effective, he didn’t allow a runner past second base.
- Eric Young, Jr. got on base three times and stole two bases.
