The Mets have won four games in a row and three straight against the Braves.
Three games into their four-game series with the Atlanta Braves, the Mets are showing signs of life. WHile the deficit they faced on Monday—ten games back of the then-division-leading Braves—things weren’t exactly looking good for the Mets in 2014.
Now, though, they have won three straight games against the Braves and four straight overall. Go back a couple more games, and they’ve won five of their last six. That doesn’t exactly make the Mets favorites going forward, but the team is still hanging around, at least. Another win against Atlanta tomorrow, and their weekend series against the Marlins could make for a good pre-break finale.
As for the game itself, mostly everything went well for the Mets. In his return from the disabled list, Dillon Gee looked like he had since the end of May last season. He allowed just one run, which came in the sixth, as he threw seven-plus innings. He struck out four, walked one, and now has a 2.56 ERA on the season.
At the plate, the Mets got off to a good start in the bottom of the first on a one-out double by Daniel Murphy and a two-out single by Lucas Duda that scored him. But they didn’t score, and didn’t really threaten to score, against Ervin Santana through the sixth inning. But in the seventh, they turned a 1-1 tie into a three-run lead.
David Wright led off the inning with a double, and he advanced to third on a hard-hit fly out by Lucas Duda to right field. Bobby Abreu walked—and showed up the third base umpire afterwards for a terrible call on a check swing the pitch before the walk. Terry Collins pinch ran for Abreu with Juan Lagares, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit a hard line drive to right field that Jason Heyward caught. Wright scored easily on the play to put the Mets up 2-1, but Heyward’s play saved the Braves at least another run—temporarily, anyways.
Travis d’Arnaud has hit very well since coming back from Triple-A Las Vegas, and he stepped in and hit one of the most sure-thing home runs of the Mets’ season. It was his third home run since coming back, and he has a .900 OPS over that span.
Gee went back out to start the seventh inning but gave up a single to Tommy La Stella and a very surprising bunt single to Gerald Laird. That prompted Terry Collins to turn to Vic Black out of the bullpen, but Black retired each of the three batters he faced to escape the jam. Jenrry Mejia then pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing a couple of singles but striking out two in the process.
SB Nation GameThreads
* Amazin' Avenue GameThread
* Talking Chop GameThread
Win Probability Added
Big winners: Vic Black, +14.4% WPA, Travis d’Arnaud, +13.1% WPA, David Wright, +11.6% WPA, Dillon Gee, +11.4% WPA
Big losers: none
Teh aw3s0mest play: Travis d’Arnaud’s two-run home run int he seventh, +15.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play:B.J. Upton’s game-tying double in the sixth, -15.7% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +28.3% WPA
Total batter WPA: +21.7% WPA
GWRBI!: Kirk Nieuwenhuis