First off, Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there!! As the great Mets broadcaster once said, “It’s Mother’s Day today at Shea, so to all you mothers out there, Happy Birthday!”
With that, let’s dive into the series against the Atlanta Braves. The Mets lost two of three against the Braves over weekend, nearly being no-hit in the second game and were a Brandon Nimmo walk-off home run away from being swept. They stand at 19-20 as they play two against the first-place Phillies at Citi Field and travel down to Philadelphia for two more.
Atlanta Braves Series – Game Recaps
Game 1: Braves 4, Mets 2
It was a home run show at Citi Field on a Friday night with 5 of the game’s 6 runs coming through the long ball. This game started late due to rain. The Mets put the Knicks game on the big screen during the delay, so the approximately 23,000 in attendance could join the rest of the sports world in watching Game 3 of Knicks vs. Pacers.
The Mets finally got on the board in the bottom of the 7th. Francisco Lindor delivered a solo shot from the left side of the plate, where he had struggled earlier in the year, to cut the lead to 4-1. The scoring was silent again until the bottom of the 9th. The Pete Alonso Resurgence Tour continues, as he drove in Starling Marte with an RBI single.
After Alonso’s massive slump, over the past two games (through Game 1 of the Braves series), he is 4 for 9 with 2 doubles and a HR. He has driven in 4 runs over that time frame.
The Mets bats were mostly silent again, with the exception of Lindor and Alonso. Brandon Nimmo was the only other Met to deliver a base hit as they had 4 total on the day. The Mets lineup also struck out 10 times on the day.
On the mound, Jose Quintana started for the Mets and was pretty good other than the HR parade in the 3rd. His line for the day was 4 ER on 6 hits through 5.0 innings. This start raised his ERA for the season to 5.44, to go along with a 1-4 record. His WHIP this year is an unimpressive 1.55. When the (hopefully soon) arrivals of reinforcements from the injured list, namely Kodai Senga, Tylor Megill, and David Peterson, get to the team, manager Carlos Mendoza will face a tough decision with what to do with Quintana. Aside from one masterful start against the Cardinals, his other 4 more recent starts saw him cover 17.2 innings and surrender 18 ER’s for an ERA of 9.17. He struck out 13 over those 4 starts while walking 9.
The bullpen dynamic was interesting for this game, with the return of Yohan Ramirez after his brief stint with Baltimore. Remember Ramirez from throwing behind Rhys Hoskins during the season opening series with Milwaukee. The 8th and 9th innings were covered by former starter Adrian Houser.
Braves starter Charlie Morton threw seven strong innings, allowing only 1 ER on 3 hits.
Game 2: Braves 4, Mets 1
Good, Bad and Ugly from this one:
Good: J.D. Martinez and Christian Scott. Martinez hit a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the 9th. Did it win the game? No. Did it tie it? No. Importantly, it prevented a combined no-hitter for the Braves. Scott had another strong start despite picking up his first MLB loss.
Bad: The lineup. The Mets couldn’t hit, anything. After going 8.2 innings without a hit, the Martinez HR and a single by Harrison Bader represented the offense.
Ugly: City Connect Uniforms. Superstitious or not, the Mets have not had good luck in these new uniforms, moving to 0-4.
Scott made the start for the Mets, his first at Citi Field and for the most part did not disappoint. He went 6 innings, striking out 8 and only walking 2 while allowing 3 ER’s on 6 hits. The major difference was a 2-run HR by #8 hitter Orlando Arcia in the top of the 3rd. Continuing the trend of no run support for heralded Mets pitchers, Scott received none.
Finally waking up in the 9th inning, Martinez got the Mets going with his first HR as a Met. He stated when he signed with the Mets that he would enjoy playing in Citi Field and would put up good numbers there. This is likely what he had in mind. His HR was the opposite way, over the right field fence. This was followed by a walk to Jeff McNeil and Bader’s hit before Brett Baty filed out to CF to end it.
Of more concern for the Mets moving forward, Brandon Nimmo exited the game after the 4th inning with right intercostal irritation. Both Nimmo and manager Carlos Mendoza expressed optimism that they caught it early.
The Braves were buoyed by strong defense and pitching (obviously) on their no-hitter bid. Michael Harris II was a strong point in CF for Atlanta, and Max Fried (7 innings), and Joe Jimenez (1 inning) brought the game to the 9th with the Mets having 0 hits. Raisel Iglesias, the Braves closer, entered the 9th of a non-save situation looking to preserve the no-no. After retiring Lindor and Alonso, the minor excitement began with Martinez’s home run before Iglesias closed the door on the 4-1 Atlanta win.
Game 3: Mets 4, Braves 3
The Mets avoided the sweep in the weekend series, and did so in dramatic fashion.
As mentioned above, Brandon Nimmo was injured in the prior game. He was kept out of the starting lineup for this one, but entered in the seventh inning as a pinch-runner. After that, he made an outstanding play in left field and in the ninth clinched it for the Mets. Facing A.J. Minter of the Braves, Nimmo hit a two-run home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Kudos to Jeff McNeil for the bunt single that put him on base and set up Nimmo’s game winner.
The leadoff hitter for the Mets in this game was a bit of surprise. Getting the start in place of Nimmo in Left Field, D.J. Stewart also led off for the Mets. More surprising, Stewart, who had been having a tough year, went 2 for 3 with a walk.
Getting the start for the Mets was Luis Severino. Severino went 5 innings giving up 2 earned runs on 4 hits while striking out 4 and walking 3. He exerted himself again, needing 94 pitches to get that far. He began the 6th but gave way to Reed Garrett after a lead off walk and single. Garrett allowed an RBI single to Marcel Ozuna to put the Braves up 2-1 before striking out the next 3 batters. Garrett would also take the seventh inning before giving way to Adam Ottavino and Jake Diekman for the 8th, where the Braves took a 3-2 lead. Closer Edwin Díaz pitched the ninth to set up the theatrics of a Mets walk-off win in the bottom of the inning.
For Atlanta, former Mets first round pick Jarred Kelenic played at Citi Field for the first time and hit his second home run of the season to give the Braves a 1-0 lead in this game. Marcell Ozuna drove in the other two Atlanta runs with RBI singles in the sixth and eight innings. A.J. Minter was in to pitch the ninth inning as closer Raisel Iglesias was not available after pitching the prior two games (including a non-save situation in Game 2 of the series as the Braves tried for a combined no-hitter).
Krom’s Korner
There’s something fascinating about the bottom of the ninth inning. Maybe it’s the fact that not every game has them. Maybe it’s the appearance of the closer in some games. Maybe it’s the win or go home aspect of it. Whatever it is, the excitement is ramped up and that happened throughout this Mets-Braves series.
In Game 2 of the series, a 4-1 win for Atlanta, the Braves were pushing for a no-hitter. There have only been 323 no-no’s thrown in the history of the game, so it is a rare feet when considering the hundreds of thousands of games that have been played. With the Braves closing in on history, the Braves brought in their closer, Raisel Iglesias, to pitch the ninth inning in a non-save situation. After retiring the first two batters, the Braves were one out away from the no-hitter. J.D. Martinez stepped to plate and delivered an opposite field home run to break up the no-hitter and the shutout. The Mets would go on to get the tying run to the plate before losing 4-1.
In Game 3 of the series, a Mets 4-3 victory, Brandon Nimmo provided the heroics in the bottom of the ninth. After starting the game on the bench nursing sore ribs, he was called upon to enter as a pinch runner in the seventh. He got his shot at the plate with one out in the 9th. After Jeff McNeil started the frame with a bunt single, Tomas Nido bunted him to second base. Nimmo did the rest.
The excitement that the Mets showed when Nimmo won the game seemed like they were in the playoffs. Again, there’s something about the bottom of the ninth. It’s Must See TV, for moments like those seen in this Mets-Braves series. It’s a big part of what makes baseball so special.
Who’s Next: Philadelphia Phillies
After taking on the always tough Atlanta Braves, things don’t get much easier for the Mets as they start a four-game “home and home” series with the Phillies. The first two games are scheduled for Citi Field on Monday and Tuesday before moving to Philadelphia for two on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Phillies enter the series at 28-13, in first place in the NL East, 2 games ahead of the Braves and 8 ahead of the Mets and Nationals.
The Mets will avoid former teammate Zack Wheeler in this series as he pitched the series finale against the Marlins. However, they will need to contend with Aaron Nola who enters the series with a record of 4-2 and an ERA of 3.67.
Trea Turner had started the season very strong for the Phillies, with an average of .343 and OPS of .852. However, he will not be playing in this series with a hamstring injury. However, the Mets will need to contend with the ever-dangerous Bryce Harper.
The Mets will have the quartet of Sean Manaea (2-1 record, 3.31 ERA), Jose Butto (1-2, 3.00), Jose Quintana (1-4, 5.44), and Christian Scott (0-1, 2.84) going in the series.
Following the 4-game home and home series with the Phillies, the Mets will travel for a 3-game weekend series in Miami against the Marlins.
Written by: Jason Krom
Stats by espn.com
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