Mets Do Just Enough To Take First Game in Atlanta

Despite losing two more key players on Monday night in starting pitcher Taijuan Walker (left side tightness) and center fielder Kevin Pillar (hit by pitch), the Mets did just enough to steal a 3-1 road victory over the Atlanta Braves.

The Amazins’ limped into this three-game series after getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays. And prior to the game, the team placed Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto on the injured list.

To make matters worse, Walker left his outing after just three innings. However, long reliever Sean Reid-Foley stepped up to toss three perfect innings behind him.

While the game remained scoreless until the top of the seventh, the Mets once again saw an unlikely hero step up in a big spot. In this case, it was backup catcher Tomas Nido, who led off with a double against Max Fried.

With Nido on second and nobody out, the Mets’ usual starting catcher James McCann, who has struggled offensively this year,  came off the bench and delivered his biggest knock of the season by driving in Nido with a double of his own to produce the game’s first run.

“The approach was to get something I could handle and try to get a good swing on it,” said McCann. “Hitting in general is not easy to do, and pinch hitting isn’t easy either. I was just trying to get a pitch I could do damage with.”

The Mets signed McCann to a four-year, $40 million deal in the offseason. And although he has done an excellent job with handling the Mets’ pitching staff behind the plate, McCann was hitting just .200 with a .494 OPS coming into the night.

Above all else, it’s safe to say that he needed that hit more than anyone and the hope is that it can help him get things going offensively.

“That was huge for him,” said manager Luis Rojas. “I’m glad he made a good two strike swing. That’s something he is going to need because you battle in at-bats and find yourself sometimes.”

McCann’s backup had himself a big night, as well. Nido helped set the table in the seventh and went 3-for-4 with two runs scored in the contest.

While Nido has always been known for his solid defense behind the plate, he has made tremendous strides with his bat since the start of last season.

“I think it goes back to last year and the offseason,” said Nido. “What’s put together on a daily basis builds up to what’s happening now. The good ones you build on, the bad ones you take away so you know how to adjust.”

After taking the lead with back-to-back doubles from their catchers, the Amazins’ loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, which brought up Pillar. In a scary incident, Pillar was forced to exit after getting hit in the face by a pitch.

Pillar hit the ground hard with his nose gushing blood, but he was able to walk off under his own power. Rojas said Pillar went to the hospital to get a CT scan after the game, but luckily, the center fielder tweeted afterwards that he was doing OK.

The Mets added their second run of the game on the hit by pitch, and Khalil Lee entered to pinch run for Pillar at first base.

In the top of the eighth, Nido was at it again with a one-out single. He’d advance after the ball got away on Jake Hager‘s strike out, before coming around to score the third run on a bloop double off the bat of Johneshwy Fargas, who picked up his first career MLB hit in his first game as a Met.

These runs proved to be all the Mets needed, as Jeurys Familia, Trevor May and Edwin Diaz were able to hold on in the final three innings.

While it appears as though the Mets just keep finding ways to win, it will only get trickier until they start getting some reinforcements back from the I.L., which is a list that continues to grow by the day.

In the meantime, they are going to have to keep relying on their depth. Not to mention, they will also need some of their big guns to step up and carry more of the load in McCann, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith.

With Walker headed for an MRI on Tuesday, and Pillar’s status in question, the Mets could once again find themselves making roster moves prior to their next game. But for now, all they can hope for is that the next man up mentality keeps paying off.