The New York Mets were coasting on Friday night in steamy Atlanta. Slowly but surely, the wheels fell off.
An 8-2 lead — powered by home runs from J.D. Davis and Robinson Cano — dwindled to 8-5, then a 10-6 lead courtesy of Amed Rosario‘s first homer of the year was cut to 10-8, then, inevitably, the Braves took an 11-10 lead on a Travis d’Arnaud three-run double in the eighth. The former Mets backstop drove in five runs on Friday.
Mets starter Rick Porcello allowed four runs on five hits over four innings, striking out five and walking three. New York’s bullpen allowed seven earned runs over four, including a four-run appearance from Dellin Betances (0.1 IP, L) in the eighth.
Cano went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, Davis went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, Andres Gimenez added two hits, and Yoenis Cespedes contributed two RBIs in the loss.
Pitching
Porcello started his night out on the right foot, striking out Ronald Acuna Jr. swinging a well-placed slider and inducing weak contact from Dansby Swanson for two quick outs.
That didn’t last, as Freddie Freeman, Marcell Ozuna, Matt Adams, and Travis d’Arnaud strung together four consecutive two-out base hits to stake Atlanta to an early 2-0 lead. But better times were to come.
The right-hander worked around a two-out Acuna double in the second, striking out Adeiny Hechavarria, Ender Inciarte, and Swanson (awkward swinging third strike at a foot-inside sinker) and the New Jersey product set down the Braves in succession in the third.
D’Arnaud walked and stole second (his first swiped bag since 2014) to start the fourth and Porcello issued a free pass to Austin Riley in the next at-bat, but wriggled out of the jam, (Hechavarria flyout, Inciarte forceout, Acuna flyout) to keep the game tied at two.
Porcello walked the leadoff batter again in the fifth and Freeman reached on an egregious drop by Davis in left field to put two runners on, beckoning Mets skipper Luis Rojas out of the bullpen to pull his starter.
Paul Sewald entered and immediately allowed a double to Adams and an RBI single to d’Arnaud, cutting the lead to 8-4 and Alonso dropped a potential inning-ending double-play return, making it an 8-5 game.
Left-hander Chasen Shreve took the hill in the sixth and gave up a run on Swanson’s RBI double to score Inciarte (walk), cutting the lead to 10-6, then struck out the side in a perfect seventh. Shreve seems to be carving out a spot for himself in Rojas’ bullpen.
Dellin Betances allowed a leadoff hit to Hechavarria walked Inciarte to start the eighth and gave up a one-out RBI single to Swanson to cut the lead to 10-7. The right-hander simply didn’t look sharp on Friday.
Following a double-steal to move both runners into scoring position, Betances’ ball-four wild pitch to Freeman brought home Inciarte to make it a 10-8 game and end Betances’ night.
Seth Lugo came on to quell the threat with runners on the corners and one out but walked Ozuna and allowed a three-run double to d’Arnaud, putting the Braves ahead 11-10.
Offense
Braves lefty Sean Newcomb set down the Mets in order through the first two frames before Robinson Cano led off the third with a line-drive base hit into center field but nothing materialized for New York. They’d come alive soon enough.
Pete Alonso drew a one-out walk in the fourth and J.D. Davis connected for his second home run of the season to tie the game at two and Robinson Cano crushed a Newcomb hanging curveball into deep right field his first dinger of the season in the fifth to put the Mets ahead 3-2.
Wilson Ramos followed Cano with a base hit into right field and Andres Gimenez — starting at third base on Friday — placed a bunt perfectly down the first-base line to put two runners on with none out and a slim lead.
Brandon Nimmo singled to load the bases, ending Newcomb’s evening and bringing right-hander Jhoulys Chacin into the game to face Alonso, who drew an RBI bases-on-balls, extending the Mets’ lead to 4-2.
Michael Conforto got another free pass to make it a 5-2 game, and Yoenis Cespedes got in on the fun with a hard-hit, two-out, two-run double, putting the Mets ahead 7-2, and Cano shot a single into right to make it 8-2. A much-needed big inning.
Amed Rosario led off the sixth with a solo homer — his first of the year — to extend the lead to 9-5, and following a Nimmo walk/stolen base/scamper to third on an errant throw to second, Davis shot a looper into right field for his third RBI of the night and a 10-5 Metsies lead.
Gimenez added his second hit of the night with a leadoff single in the eighth and is 4-for-13 on the young season.
Down by a run in the ninth, Conforto singled and Cano walked to put the tying run in scoring position, but Wilson Ramos flew out to end the game.
On Deck
Michael Wacha (1-0, 1.80 ERA) takes the mound for his second start with the Mets against right-hander Touki Toussaint (0-0, 20.25 ERA) and the Braves in Atlanta on Saturday at 7:10 PM EST.
The game will be televised on SNY and broadcast on WCBS 880 AM.
