The New York Mets (80-72) were defeated by the Atlanta Braves (61-91) by a score of 4-3 Wednesday night at Citi Field in heartbreaking fashion. The Cardinals lost as well, so the Mets and St. Louis are currently tied for the second wildcard spot. At the time this article was written, the San Francisco Giants (80-71) were losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1 in the 1st inning.
Pitching:
Bartolo Colon started for the Mets and was brilliantly sexy through the first six innings. However, former Met Anthony Recker took him deep in the 7th for a two-run home run for the only blemish on Colon’s line. He ended up pitching 6.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 6 and walking none.
Addison Reed came in to preserve the Mets lead in the 7th with two outs and a runner on first. He struck out the batter to end the inning. He stayed in for the 8th and allowed a baserunner when Ender Inciarte reached on a tough error by James Loney at first. Adonis Garcia then flew out, before Terry brought in the lefty to face Freddie Freeman.
That lefty’s name is Josh Smoker who jammed Freeman, however he got it to the outfield putting runners on first and second with one out, still 3-2 Mets.
Jeurys Familia came in with one out in the 8th to go for the 5-out save. While Matt Kemp was at the plate, Enciarte and Freeman pulled off a double steal to put runners on second and third still with one out. Kemp worked the count to 3-2 and still fouled off a few good pitches before he lofted a ball out to Yoenis Cespedes in left field. Enciarte tagged up from third, however Cespedes’ throw was offline just enough for the run to score and tie the game.
Familia stayed in for the 9th with the game tied and quickly allowed a base hit to Jace Peterson. Dansby Swanson then bunted him over to second, accounting for the first out of the inning. Pinch-hitter Emilio Bonifacio then singled to left, putting runners on first and third. Ender Inciarte then nubbed one towards second base, hit much too softly to turn a double play. He was thrown out at first, however unfortunately the run scored to give the Braves a 4-3 lead. Ty Kelly then ended the inning by making a phenomenal bare-handed play on a gingerly-hit ball off the bat of Adonis Garcia.
Offense:
Jose Reyes walked to lead off the game, then Asdrubal Cabrera really got the show rolling with a two-run blast to right field to give the Mets an early 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the 5th inning, Rene Rivera crushed a solo shot to left-center field over the great wall of Flushing.
T.J. Rivera continues to hit with two more singles tonight.
With one out in the 8th, Yoenis Cespedes tried to make up for his errant throw in the top of the inning with a long fly ball to left. Matt Kemp jumped at the fence but it went in and out of his glove, leaving Cespedes with a double. The ball might have hit the orange line if not for Kemp, but I guess the world will never know if he robbed a home run or not. Curtis Granderson was then walked intentionally.
T.J. Rivera came up with runners on first and second with one out. While he was up, Yo and Grandy pulled off a double steal. The Braves did it in the top of the inning, but the Mets did it better.
Rivera unfortunately struck out. With Kelly Johnson coming up, the Braves brought in the lefty. Terry countered with Eric Campbell. The Braves walked him intentionally to load the bases with James Loney on deck. Terry then pinch hit for Loney with Kevin Plawecki for a more favorable matchup. Unfortunately, favorability is not a guarantee, as he struck out to end the inning, leaving the bases loaded and the game tied going to the 9th.
Down 4-3 in the 9th, the Mets needed to put something together against closer Jim Johnson to avoid getting swept by the Braves for the second series at Citi Field in a row. Brandon Nimmo led off with a “17-hop base hit” (Gary) up the middle. Pinch-hitter Jay Bruce quickly fell behind 0-2, and despite working the count back to 2-2, he struck out on a nice changeup. With the lefty Lucas Duda available, Terry opted to go with Travis d’Arnaud who had yet to chalk up an RBI in September. Travis worked the count full, and with Nimmo running of the payoff pitch, d’Arnaud walked.
Asdrubal Cabrera strolled to the dish with runners on first and second, one out. Johnson got ahead of him 0-2 and induced a flyout to left, not nearly deep enough to move the runners up. So – two runners on, two outs, Mets down a run…
And Yoenis Cespedes coming up. For the second night in a row, it was Cespedes vs. Johnson. Last night he struck out, but this time he socked one to deep center field. It would have cleared the fence, if not for Ender Inciarte who ran a long way, and with a perfectly-timed jump, robbed Cespedes of a game-winning three-run home run for the final out of the night. It clearly would have gone over the fence, Yo and the Mets were truly robbed.
Notes:
Verizon Trivia Question: Who was the catcher for Bartolo Colon‘s first career start?
Freddie Freeman increased his hitting streak to an impressive 25 games.
I disagree wholeheartedly with Terry Collins‘ decision to remove Addison Reed in the 8th inning. I understand where he’s coming from bringing in the lefty to face Freeman, however Reed has held lefties to a .196 BA this season. Further, he is the set up man. The 8th inning is his job. If he does his job, which he has done beautifully this year, Jeurys Familia would come in for only a three-out save rather than five.
Ender Inciarte is a jerk.
Steven Matz will be starting Friday for the Mets, so… That’s good.
The Mets now have ten games remaining in the season, seven of which are against the Phillies.
Verizon Trivia Answer: Sandy Alomar Jr. (April 4th, 1997)
On Deck:
Thursday night at 7:10 PM, the Mets will send Seth Lugo (4-2, 2.35 ERA) to face off against the Phillies’ Adam Morgan (2-10, 5.57 ERA) at Citi Field.
