Eric Young and Daniel Murphy were just too much for the Braves to handle as they led the Mets to a 6-4 win.
Despite a big 3rd inning that saw Justin Uptonhit one of the longest home runs in Turner Field history (and his second homer of the game) in a 3-run inning, the Mets bats came alive and they had their running shoes on as well, as they hit-and-ran their way to 6 runs in a 6-4 victory.
The first inning was a sign of things to come for the rest of the night: Eric Young Jr. got on base, stole 2nd, got to 3rd on an error, and scored on a Daniel Murphy ground out. Eric Young getting on base, stealing bases, and scoring runs would be a theme for the night, as Young would proceed to go 3-5 for the entire night (including a triple) and stole 3 bases as well on his way to scoring 4 of the Mets' 6 runs.
An extension of the night's theme was Daniel Murphy driving in Eric Young, as Murphy also went 3-5 with a double, a walk, and 3 RBI. Murphy and Young went 6-10, while the rest of the Mets went 3-32. One of those 3 non-Murphy-or-Young hits belonged to David Wright, who drove in a run in the top of the 3rd.
All in all, it was a rough night for the Braves and their pitchers. David Hale made the start and only went 4 1/3 innings with 5 hits allowed and 4 runs scored, 3 of them earned. The bullpen didn't fare much better. Although Anthony Varvaro came in and pitched nearly 2 solid innings of relief, Luis Avilan wasn't as fortunate. In his first appearance since his encounter with a broken bat on Monday night, Avilan only gave up one hit, but the hit sparked a rally for the Mets. After a walk, a wild pitch, and a stolen base, Gus Schlosser was tapped to come in, and Schlosser promptly gave up a single to give the Mets the lead that they would never relinquish.
After scoring 4 runs in the first 3 innings, the Braves had a couple of chances to add on to that tally but failed to do so. With runners on 2nd and 3rd in the bottom of the 5th, Ryan Doumit grounded out to end the inning. In the 6th, Jordan Schafer laid down a bunt that went about as badly as a bunt could go; Schafer would get thrown out easily at first and Ramiro Pena got caught in a rundown to end the inning, and ultimately end the best chance that the Braves had to make something happen for the rest of the game.
With the loss, the Braves fell to 5-4 while the Mets improved their record to 4-5 as they took the series. The Braves will now try to put this series behind them as they start a new home series with the Nationals this weekend.
Source: FanGraphs