The Mets (33-30) fell 5-3 to the Braves (30-32) in 11 innings on Saturday evening at Citi Field.
Jacob deGrom pitched for the Mets and was terrific, giving up just one run on five hits and a walk in seven innings, striking out nine.
DeGrom fanned the first two hitters he faced and seemed primed to start out his day with a zero. But as Gary Cohen began to discuss how careful the Mets had been with Atlanta’s #3 hitter Freddie Freeman in the previous night’s game, Freeman showed everybody why, crushing the first pitch he saw out to the Shea Bridge in right field to stake Braves starter Shelby Miller to a 1-0 lead.
For most of the game, it appeared that the Atlanta ace would make that lead hold up. The Mets got several runners on base, but most of the action came with two outs, and New York, unable to string hits together failed to cash in. The Mets seemed certain to score in the bottom of the sixth when Wilmer Flores tattooed a double that just missed going out of the park, and Darrell Ceciliani followed with a single, but Flores was held up at third, and Miller got out of the jam.
DeGrom settled back in after the homer and kept the Braves off the board from that point, working out of a few tough spots along the way (and helping himself by throwing out a runner at the plate in the third). With a runner on third and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, an exhausted deGrom got some major help from Flores, who made a great play on a ball up the middle and fired to first to retire the side and save a run.
The Mets finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh. Juan Lagares hit a pinch-hit single with one out and moved to third on a double by Curtis Granderson. Travis d’Arnaud drove in the tying and go-ahead runs with a single to center, taking second on an error. Miller was pulled for former Met Dana Eveland, who threw a wild pitch that allowed d’Arnaud to reach third and then surrendered a double to Lucas Duda which gave the hosts a 3-1 lead before Nick Masset came in and stopped the bleeding.
With deGrom’s day done, Terry Collins called on Jack Leathersich, who was greeted with a double by Cameron Maybin, who then stole third (a lengthy video review confirmed that he just did beat the tag). But Maybin’s luck ran out on the next play, as he was gunned down at the plate trying to score on a shallow fly ball in foul ground. Ceciliani made a terrific play in left, catching the ball at an awkward angle and making a quick turn to fire the ball to d’Arnaud at the plate. Bobby Parnell came in for his first appearance since Opening Day of 2014, and, after allowing a bloop single, got the third out of the inning.
Hansel Robles came in to pitch the ninth, going for his first career save. Robles allowed a walk and a single to start the inning before fanning a batter for the first out. Robles then got Jace Peterson— who Flores had robbed in the seventh— to hit a far more routine play to the Met shortstop, but Flores bobbled it and was only able to get one out on the play, extending the game. Cameron Maybin then singled to left to score a run and put the tying run on second with two outs.
Alex Torres came in to face Freddie Freeman and got ahead 0-2 on the slugger, but Freeman worked it back to 3-2 (and might have gotten a call on the corner), then singled up the middle to tie the game and take away deGrom’s chance to get a win. After Torres struck out Markakis to end the inning, the Mets came to the plate looking to take a bullpen-proof lead with a walkoff win, but went down in order against Jim Johnson, and the game headed to extra innings.
Carlos Torres and Jason Grilli traded zeroes in the 10th, but Atlanta took the lead for good in the top of the 11th. Simmons led off with a single up the middle, and Juan Uribe lined one that a diving Dilson Herrera deflected but could not reel in, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Peterson laid down a poor bunt which landed just fair in front of Eric Campbell, and Campbell picked it up and fired to first for the out rather than letting it roll foul, putting runners on second and third. With Freeman on deck, Torres had to go after Maybin, who ripped a single to drive home a pair and put the Braves up 5-3.
Williams Perez came in to close things out for the Braves and quickly allowed hits to Ceciliani and Herrera. But John Mayberry‘s liner landed right in the glove of Simmons at short, and Ceciliani was unable to scramble back to the bag in time to avoid the double-play. Lagares then grounded out to end the ballgame.
That would have been a great win, but after the comeback, the wheels fell off at the very last moment, and it became a pretty bitter loss.
DeGrom has been phenomenal of late, and it was great to see the Mets rally in the seventh to take him off the hook and put him in line for the win. Unfortunately, the bullpen coughed up the lead in the ninth, and so the W-L historians will say Jacob never pitched in this game.
Wilmer botched a double-play ball for the second consecutive game. However, his play in the seventh was terrific, and he’s been much better in the field since the opening weeks of the season. It’s hard to get on him too badly for that mistake, especially when he’s hitting well. But if he turns that double-play instead of mishandling the ball, the game is over right there.
Danny Muno had a bit of rough luck in this game, but he really has not looked good. He made three errors (although one was a throwing error he committed after making a fantastic play to get to the ball in the first place) and went hitless (although he did draw a walk, and was robbed of a hit at one point by Andrelton Simmons). He needs to pick it up if he wants to stay in the Majors. As does Leathersich.
Travis d’Arnaud was hailed as a great defensive catcher as he was coming through the system, but was subpar as a rookie behind the plate. He’s looked much better this season, and that’s crucial. This team can’t afford more bad defense.
Ceciliani came up big today. He was doubled off in the 11th, but that was more due to bad luck than bad judgement. He looks like he could be a solid player off the bench. I just hope the Mets don’t try to get him in the starting lineup, overexpose him, and send him spiraling into the sub-Mendoza abyss with Eric Campbell and former Met Kirk Nieuwenhuis.
There were bright spots in this game defensively for the Mets, but overall, the gloves really let the rest of the team down. Despite what some will tell you, this is not a pathetic team. This team is in first place. But unless the Mets become an offensive dynamo, they won’t win in the long run with such sloppy defense.
The Mets don’t have the deepest bullpen, and with Jeurys Familia getting the day off, that was especially the case today. The Torres’s have been underwhelming, Leathersich is not reliable, Robles is inconsistent, and Erik Goeddel just went on the Disabled List. But with Familia back in the mix, Parnell finally back (it remains to see if he can regain his old form), Vic Black apparently close, and, of course, Jenrry Mejia nearing the end of his 80-game suspension, things should hopefully turn around for the ‘pen before long.
The Mets announcers are always good for a couple good laughs a game. Ron Darling‘s speech in the sixth about how the Mets should send Flores from second on any hit whatsoever was interrupted by a hit on which Wilmer had absolutely no chance of scoring. If Ron were an MMO commenter, the replies to that comment would have come in spades.
That soul-crushing line-drive double-play thing happens to the Mets far too often. Time to see if they can inflict some heartbreak of their own in the rubber game.
Up Next: The Mets will look to win their three-game series with the Braves at 1:10 PM on Sunday Afternoon. Dillon Gee (0-3, 4.50 ERA) will face Mike Foltynewicz (3-2, 3.72 ERA) at Citi Field.
