In what is likely Terry Collins last game as the Mets manager at Citi Field, he went out the way he would’ve wanted to go out. No, not  batting Jose Reyes lead-off while sitting Dominic Smith and Michael Conforto against the left-handed Braves starter Sean Newcomb.  Although, we can be sure he was happy to do that. No, Collins went out a winner. 

The main reason the Mets won this game was Robert Gsellman. 

Gsellman would allow just one run over six innings while allowing six hits. That sole run came off an Ozzie Albies two out RBI single in the third. That wouldn’t be the Braves last threat. 

In the fifth, the Braves loaded the bases with two outs with Mets killer Freddie Freeman striding to the plate. Gsellman would get out of the jam striking out Freeman: one of his four on the night. 

Gsellman would depart in the sixth due to the bat of Travis d’Arnaud. d’Arnaud would have all three Mets RBI on the night. 

In the fourth, he tied the game off a Dansby Swanson error scoring Juan Lagares. d’Arnaud was back abusing Swanson again in the fifth. 

Gsellman led off the fifth with a walk, and Reyes followed with a single. After a Lagares strikeout, an Asdrubal Cabrera groundout moved Gsellman and Reyes to second and third for d’Arnaud, who delivered a two RBI single under the diving Swanson for a 3-1 lead. 

The game would stay tight until the seventh when the Mets would blow the doors open with the help of a Freeman error. 

First baseman Kevin Plawecki got the rally started with a two out walk against Jim Johnson. The inning would continue after Freeman couldn’t come up with a Brandon Nimmo tough grounder. 

That error proved costly as Smith would snap out of a 3-35 streak with a three run homer into the Coke Den. 

.@TheRealSmith22's 3-run homer highlights the 4 run 7th. ?

7-1 #Mets pic.twitter.com/3n1ZobUdma

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 28, 2017

Surprisingly, the rally would continue. Matt Reynolds singled, and Nori Aoki walked chasing Johnson. The Braves substituted Ian Krol for Johnson. In what may prove to be Reyes’ last at-bat at Citi Field in a Mets uniform, he doubled home Reynolds and Aoki giving the Mets a 7-1 lead. 

Jamie Callahan, Chasen Bradford, and Paul Sewald combined to pitch the final three scoreless innings preserving the 7-1 win. 
This game closed a chapter in the legacy of Collins and perhaps Reyes. It’s very likely neither one of them will be Mets next year. For Collins part, he deserved to go out this way. 

Through it all, he gave his all to the Mets and treated Mets fans better than any other Mets manager. Whoever takes over for him will have big shoes to fill on that front. 

Game Notes: Today was the 28th Anniversary of Keith Hernandez‘s and Gary Carter‘s last home game as a Met.