The Mets (66-90) were defeated by the Atlanta Braves (71-84) by a score of 9-2 in the first leg of a double dip this afternoon at Citi Field.
Pitching:
Chris Flexen (3-5, 7.14 ERA) took the ball for the Mets in the opener and handed in a mediocre performance.
The right-hander cruised through the first three innings before the Braves fired the opening salvo in the fourth on the strength of an Ozzie Albies solo jack.
Flexen pitched a scoreless fifth, but put on three in the sixth before hitting the showers. Josh Smoker surrendered a trio of inherited runs to Atlanta to make it a 4-0 ballgame.
The Braves tacked on another the following frame on a double from the red hot Ender Inciarte.
Kevin McGowan allowed three more to cross home in his lone inning of work and Jacob Rhame yielded one more to put the nail in the coffin for the Mets.
Offense:
The Mets were held scoreless until the seventh inning. Tomas Nido, making his first major league start, doubled home a pair to chip away at the deficit.
However, it would be the only scoring the Mets could muster up as Lucas Sims and company held them at bay a majority of the game.
Juan Lagares went 3-for-3 out of the seven hole, while Jose Reyes and Brandon Nimmo were responsible for the remainder of the Mets hits.
On deck:
The Mets and the Braves will be right back at it shortly, with Seth Lugo (6-5, 5.03) taking on Max Fried (1-0, 4.41 ERA). First pitch will be thrown 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1.
