SEVEN IN A ROW!
The Mets (82-61) completed the sweep of the Braves (56-88) by a score of 10-7 this afternoon at Turner Field in Atlanta.
Pitching:
Jon Niese, who had a 6.58 ERA in his previous seven starts, looked to right the ship against the cellar dweling Atlanta Braves this afternoon.
In the first inning, after recording two outs, Niese loaded the bases but was able to escape the jam unscathed.
After the Mets had taken a 2-0 lead, Niese put the first two men on in the third, and would allow the Braves to tie the game right back after Adonis Garcia and Andrelton Simmons contributed to drive in a pair later in the inning.
Atlanta took their first lead of the day in the sixth inning, as Niese put runners on second and third with nobody out after a single and a fielding error from Juan Uribe.
Michael Bourn then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 3-2, but Niese retired the next two batters to end the inning and limit the damage.
Tim Stauffer, making his Mets debut, replaced Niese in the 7th inning, and after a pair of singles, induced a ground ball and decided to concede the run and turn a double play, forcing Niese to settle with a no-decision.
Stauffer went back out for the eighth inning, and allowed a hit to the only batter he faced before being removed for Dario Alvarez.
Alvarez recorded two outs, but gave up a single to Daniel Castro to give the Braves a 5-4 lead in the late goings.
Bobby Parnell came in with two outs and the bases loaded, and induced a fly ball that Curtis Granderson lost in the sun which allowed two runs to score. The icing on the cake for what was a very sloppily played defensive game for the Mets.
Parnell then pitched a clean bottom of the ninth in a huge bounce back outing, and would come away with the win, as the Mets took the lead in the tenth.
Addison Reed came on in the bottom of the tenth to finish off the game, and did just that as he earned his fourth save of the year.
Offense:
The Mets got on the board first in the second inning, as Michael Conforto slugged his seventh home run of the year, a two-run laser to right field.
After the Braves were able to pull out in front, the Mets regained the lead in the seventh. Kirk Nieuwenhuis singled and advanced to second on a fielder’s choice.
Kevin Plawecki then chipped in a single of his own, and Michael Cuddyer was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Curtis Granderson.
Granderson put the lead back in the Mets’ favor as he singled through the whole on the right side to drive in a pair. 4-3 Mets.
After Atlanta had went up 7-4, and the Mets were down to their final out in the ninth, Juan Lagares hit a double, and Curtis Granderson walked to get the tying run to the plate in the form of Daniel Murphy.
With his back against the wall, Murphy promptly tied the game, as he blasted a three-run shot to right center field. Absolutely incredible.
In the tenth inning with two out and nobody on, Kirk Nieuwenhuis walked and went first to third on a bloop single to right off the bat of Ruben Tejada.
The next batter, Kevin Plawecki, gave the Mets an 8-7 lead after he hit a grounder to third base and would reach after an errant throw to second which pulled the fielder off the bag, allowing Nieuwenhuis to score.
The Mets tacked on another two runs later in the inning, as Curtis Granderson and Daniel Murphy each drew a walk with the bases juiced to force in a pair.
On deck:
The Mets return home to start a three game series against the Miami Marlins tomorrow night at Citi Field. Logan Verrett (1-0, 1.93 ERA) will make a spot start for the Mets, and will be opposed by Justin Nicolino (3-3, 3.72 ERA). First pitch is at 7:10 PM.
