The Mets (79-61) beat the Braves (56-85) by a score of 7-2 on Thursday night in Atlanta, matching their win total from last season with 22 games still to play.
Bartolo Colon had a strong game for the Mets, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and a walk in 6.2 innings, striking out 2. Bartolo’s scoreless inning streak was snapped at 31, an MLB record for a pitcher over the age of 42 (he had been tied with Cy Young and Warren Spahn).
After a two-hour, twenty-minute rain delay, the Mets took a while to get going against Braves ace Shelby Miller, but they broke through in the top of the fourth. Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson singled before both coming home on a double by Kevin Plawecki that put New York up 2-0. The lead grew to 3 when Colon helped his own cause with an RBI single.
Uribe added an RBI single in the top of the seventh that put the visitors up 4-0, but the Braves got themselves back in the game following the Stretch. Nick Swisher hit a leadoff single and scored on a triple from Jace Peterson that snapped Colon’s streak, before Andrelton Simmons cut the gap to 2 with a base-hit. Colon settled down to get the next two hitters before being pulled for Dario Alvarez, who got four outs in a perfect relief appearance.
The Mets got one of those runs back in the top of the eighth on an RBI groundout from Plawecki, and put the game away in the top of the ninth on a two-run double by Uribe. Addison Reed closed things out in the ninth to seal a Met victory and give New York a 7.5 game lead in the NL East— its largest lead since 2006.
Bartolo truly is an ageless wonder. We didn’t get any behind-the-back defensive gems in this one, but any time you see Bart get an RBI hit and break a record held by Cy Young and Warren Spahn (CY YOUNG AND WARREN SPAHN!), it’s a pretty good day.
Plawecki had three RBIs tonight. He’s had a rough year at the plate, but anything he can provide when asked to spell d’Arnaud is a bonus for this team, and, of course, for his value.
The Cespedes trade will get all the love, but boy, that Uribe/Johnson deal looks amazing right now.
I would have liked to see Bobby Parnell pitch that ninth inning. Why waste Reed when you have a perfect opportunity to get Bobby some work in a low-leverage situation? Being the guy out there on the mound during the postgame handshake line might give Parnell the confidence boost he so desperately needs.
No home runs in this one, just some well-timed hits, several walks, and a good approach against a very good pitcher. It’s nice to see the offense put up big numbers even when the ball isn’t flying over the wall left and right.
The Magic Number is 16. Tick-Tock, Bryce.
Up Next: Steven Matz (2-0, 1.89 ERA) will face Matt Wisler (5-6, 5.8a ERA) when the Mets take on the Braves in Atlanta on Saturday at 7:35 PM
