3 Up

1. Brilliant Bart

Coming off a shaky start against the Cincinnati Reds, Bartolo Colon was dazzling against the Atlanta Braves on Monday night. Colon allowed seven hits, struck out seven, and didn’t allow a walk in eight innings pitched. The win was his 220th of his career, moving him past Pedro Martinez for second-most all-time by a Dominican-born pitcher. Colon retired 16 of the last 17 batters that he faced, and is the first Mets starting pitcher to go into the eigth inning this season. He’s now 9-2 lifetime against the Braves, with an ERA of 2.44 ERA.

2. Meet the Matz

Two days after Bartolo Colon made it into the eighth inning on Monday night, Steven Matz was able to do the same in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon. Matz was again brilliant, going 7 2/3 scoreless innings allowing just two hits and striking out eight batters. Since his miserable first start of the season, Matz has been nearly flawless, winning four straight decisions and lowering his ERA to 3.86.

3. The Dude Abides

We all know that when Lucas Duda starts to hit home runs, they tend to come in bunches. They certainly did this series, as he went on to hit three, including two in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon. Duda went 3 for 10 in the series with those three home runs and four RBI. On the year Duda is hitting .258 with seven HR and 18 RBI. When Duda gets hot, he really gets hot, and has the capability to carry a team when he does.

*Duda’s three home runs were just three of the seven total that the Mets hit this series against the Atlanta Braves. The Mets now have 40 home runs as a team, which is tied for the Major League lead.

3 Down

1. Harvey Takes Step Back

After winning his last two outings, Harvey struggled on Tuesday night against a weak Atlanta Braves lineup. His final line would produce wins on most occasions, but with the Mets offense only able to manage just one hit, Harvey was simply just not good enough. He allowed three runs in the fifth inning after pitching four scoreless. His three runs allowed in the fifth increased his season ERA to 6.00 in that inning. In the sixth inning this season, his ERA has ballooned all the way up to 20.25. Harvey is now 2-4 on the season with a 4.76 ERA, and quickly starting to look like the Mets third or fourth best starter.

2. One Hit

For whatever reason the Mets just cannot figure out Braves right-hander Matt Wisler. The Mets could only manage one hit against him in eight innings on Tuesday night, the lone hit being a one-out single in the fifth from Asdrubal Cabrera. Wisler is now 3-1 with an ERA of 1.55 in four starts against the Mets. They did hit some balls hard, but unfortunately they were right at Braves fielders. It was the seventh time in history that the Mets were one-hit by a Braves pitcher.

3. K-Plaw Has Struggled

In five games since Travis d’Arnaud has been placed on the disabled list, Kevin Plawecki has started all five games and has hit .200 with a .368 OBP, with no extra base hits. On the season Plawecki is batting just .176 with two RBI. Most believe that Plawecki could become a solid major league hitter, but even Terry Collins is starting to lose his patience. After the game on Tuesday night, Collins said, “I don’t mean to put pressure on him, but he’s got to start getting some hits.” Terry is right, he does, especially because of d’Arnaud’s recent history of injuries. Plawecki was 0 for 4 with two walks in his two starts against the Braves this series.