Travis d’Arnaud
There’s a box laying in an empty Mets clubhouse. An unsuspecting Travis d’Arnaud is standing over the box accompanied by Curtis Granderson and Jose Reyes. There was an ominous tone to the meeting as Reyes had already committed most of the seven deadly sins prior to this tension filled moment:
Gluttony – in 2010, it was discovered that Reyes suffered from thyroid problems which many attributed to either diet or drug use.
Greed – He bolted the Mets after signing a six year $106 million contract with the Marlins as soon as free agency began.
Sloth – In his last game with the Mets, Reyes bunted for a single and exited the game ensuring he would win the batting title.
Lust – After being traded last year, Reyes openly talked about how desperately he wanted to once again be a member of the New York Mets despite his being a member of the Colorado Rockies.
Pride – In 2007, Reyes set out to get the Mets all time stolen base record even though his sliding headfirst each and every time was taken a toll on his hands and was noted as a factor in his second half decline.
Wrath – Reyes was charge with beating his wife in their hotel room in Hawaii.
The last sin is what brings us here today. If not for that last sin, Reyes isn’t released from the Rockies. He wouldn’t have found himself back with the Mets organization. He certainly wouldn’t have found himself standing in the Mets clubhouse. Now, there is just one thing he wants, but he can’t have it because it because it belongs to another. This is the point we’re at when d’Arnaud is standing over that box in the clubhouse. He bends down, and he opens it up horrified.
It’s an entire box of Mets jerseys with the number 7. All of these jerseys with the number 7 – home, away, blue alternates, and even the 1986 racing stripe jerseys. They all have the number 7. However, now, these jerseys no longer bear d’Arnaud’s name on the back. No. These jerseys now have Reyes’ name on the back. Reyes took his number back; the number he Envied.
The Mets were just swept by the Nationals. A week before they were swept by the lowly Braves. They had lost 11 of their last 17 games. The Mets were in a stretch where they had scored only nine runs over their past five games, and John Lackey had pitched 5.1 shutout innings against a lifeless Mets offense that was only able to muster up two hits. Then Yoenis Cespedes stepped up to the plate and did this:
From that point forward, the Mets have been a different team. The Mets made an improbable comeback in that game scoring three more runs in the seventh inning to win the game 4-3.
From there, the Mets would sweep a four game set from the Cubs much like they did in last year’s NLCS. They pummeled Jason Hammel like it was Game 4 of the NLCS. They beat reigning Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta. They scored 14 runs in a game started by the $155 million dollar man Jon Lester. Overall, the Mets averaged eight runs per game against a Cubs team that leads the National League in team ERA at batting average against. It was an unexpected and impressive performance. The Mets offense transformed from a feckless one to one that could seemingly overcome any obstacle.
We saw that again on Sunday. Matt Harvey had a poor start lasting only 3.1 innings and putting the Mets in an early 6-0 hole against a Marlins team that just terrorizes the Mets. Normally, this would have been reason for the Mets fans to groan and start wondering if this Marlins teams is really better than the Mets. It would normally be cause to question whether the Mets offensive barrage of the Cubs was a fluke. It turns out it wasn’t a fluke.
The new Mets offense started chipping away. Travis d’Arnaud hit his first home run in the fourth. Curtis Granderson, back in his familiar leadoff spot for perhaps the last time, followed with a home run of his own in the fifth. Then a miracle truly happened. The Mets offense began scoring runs without hitting any more home runs. In the sixth, d’Arnaud had a bases loaded RBI infield single. Another run scored when Kelly Johnson hit into a double play. There was another rally in the seventh that saw a run score on a James Loney RBI ground out and a Wilmer Flores sacrifice fly. The Mets had gone from a six run deficit to a a tie game heading into the eighth inning. Naturally, Cespedes would be the one to put the Mets ahead for good by hitting a two run double off new Marlins reliever Fernando Rodney. It was the fourth largest comeback in Mets history.
Two weeks ago, that rally wouldn’t have been possible. The Mets offense wouldn’t have mustered up much of a fight. However, this Mets team has been different since that Cespedes’ home run into the Promenade Level – a home run that reached heights no other home run had reached at Citi Field. It was a home run that has helped the Mets offense reach heights it has not reached this season. It was a home run that may propel the entire Mets team to heights they have not seen in 30 years.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on metsmerizedonline.com
It looked like more of the same for the Mets. Steven Matz allowed a first inning two run home run to Kris Bryant and a solo shot to Javier Baez in the sixth. The Mets were down 3-0 and didn’t seem to have a chance. It was the same old dreary Mets offense. In the bottom of the sixth, Yoenis Cespedes woke everyone up:
The 441 foot shot was the longest in Citi Field history and first into the Promemade Level. It was shades of Tommie Agee.
The Mets looked like a different team after that. Travis d’Arnaud got it started with a one out single off Cubs starter John Lackey. Then a minor miracle happened when Alejandro De Aza worked out a walk against Cubs reliever Joel Peralta. Then Brandon Nimmo had the at bat of the night.
Nimmo was quickly down 1-2 in the count. He would foul off three straight pitches, and he would hit an RBI single on the ninth pitch of the at bat. It narrowed the score to 3-2. He alertly moved to second when center fielder Albert Amora tried to get De Aza at third.
Joe Maddon then went to Pedro Strop to pitch to Neil Walker. Strop quickly went ahead in the count 0-2, and the Cubs pulled the infield in. Walker then hit a hooper at second baseman Baez who had no shot at getting De Aza at home. He tried to get Nimmo at third, but he threw it wild.
Nimmo then scored to make it 4-3. It was a comeback the likes of which the Mets have not made in quite a while.
In the eighth, MLB history was made when Addison Reed pitched to Addison Russell. Russell won the first ever battle of the Addisons by walking. It set up runners at first and second with two outs. Maddon sent up Jason Heyward to pinch hit, and Terry Collins countered with Jerry Blevins. Blevins got Heyward to tap one back to Blevins to end the inning.
Jeurys Familia recorded his 27th straight save this year to secure the 4-3 win. This one wasn’t easy. Ben Zobrist hit a double to make it second a third with no outs. Familia struck out Bryant, and then intentionally walked Anthony Rizzo to face rookie catcher Willson Contreras. Familia struck out the overmatched Contreras. Baez popped it up to end what was a tremendous save by Familia and win for the Mets.
The Mets took the first game of a four game set against the Cubs. By the way, last year’s NLCS was also a four game set.
Game Notes: Matz showed his frustration out there a few times, most notably when Lackey buzzed him on a sac bunt attempt. He also threw his glove after the Baez homer. Erik Goeddel earned the win after pitching 1.2 scoreless innings.
In Max Scherzer‘s last three starts (including tonight) against the Mets, he has allowed four hits total. In essence, he only allows one hit per outing against the Mets. Asdrubal Cabrera took care of that one hit with a second inning single. Since it wasn’t a home run, it meant the Mets weren’t going to score off of him.
No, it didn’t help that Curtis Granderson needed to be scratched from the lineup after getting nicked up yesterday. His absence was all the greater when Terry Collins decided to put Alejandro De Aza and his .216 OBP in the lead off spot. It really makes no sense at all until you consider
The decision worked as well as everyone thought it would. Brandon Nimmo hit a one out single in the eighth chasing Scherzer from the game. Granderson then pinch hit for Rene Rivera and singled off Oliver Perez. After a Travis d’Arnaud pinch hit fielder’s choice, the Mets sent up De Aza.
Dusty Baker brought in his closer, Shawn Kelley, for the four out save as he was the only person in the ballpark who thought De Aza was a threat. Despite having been 3-3 off Kelley in his career, De Aza would strikeout to end the inning.
It also didn’t help that the Mets didn’t re-sign Daniel Murphy in the offseason. He’s now a National AND a Mets killer. Coming into tonight’s game, he was hitting .419/.441/.645 with two homers and eight RBI. Tonight was more of the same:
Allow me to reintroduce myself. https://t.co/5UbEsOP3cK pic.twitter.com/DDQwrAfjip
— MLB (@MLB) June 29, 2016
Murphy’s homer was one of the two runs scored off of Logan Verrett who made a good spot start. He pitched five innings allowing the two runs with four walks and one strikeout. It didn’t matter as the Mets didn’t score any runs for him.
If there was any hope the Mets would comeback, Murphy crushed those hopes:
FWAHHHH!!!!!! Murph done did it again! A monster homer to RF puts the #Nats up, 4-0. pic.twitter.com/arMRAYoh1G
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 30, 2016
Murphy’s two run home run off Sean Gilmartin in the eighth made it 4-0. It put the game out of reach. The James Loney two run homer in the ninth really only served to end a 23 inning scoreless streak. The Mets lost 4-2 and fell to six games behind the Nationals in the division.
Game Notes: Nimmo took some poor routes on balls leading to some base hits that led to a run in the third. Antonio Bastardo pitched two scoreless innings. Murphy went 2-4 with two runs, three RBI, and two homers.
Murph is batting .429 against the Mets so far this year, with 4 HR & 11 RBI in 9 games.
— EveryMurphyAtBat (@EveryMurphyAB) June 30, 2016
Last year, Travis d’Arnaud established himself as a major league catcher both behind and at the plate. He showed how far he had come from the player that had to be sent to down to the minors in 2014 because he wasn’t hitting.
In 67 games, d’Arnaud hit .268/.340/.485 with 12 homers and 41 RBI. He had a 127 OPS+. For the most part last year, d’Arnaud spent his time hitting fifth, sixth, and seventh. For whatever the reason, d’Arnaud was at his best when he was hitting seventh in the lineup. When he did hit seventh, d’Arnaud was hitting .311/.382/.541 with two homers and 12 RBI. d’Arnaud was hitting seventh in the lineup when he hit three homers in the postseason last year. Given the construction of the Mets roster this year, you could make the case that d’Arnaud should’ve been hitting seventh.
Instead, Terry Collins sees him as the eighth place hitter on this Mets team. There was a legitimate reason for it when he was hitting behind players like David Wright, Lucas Duda, Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto, Neil Walker, and Asdrubal Cabrera. Now, it is a bad decision. Duda and Wright are on the disabled list, and Conforto is in the minor leagues. Now, Collins is hitting d’Arnaud behind players he is clearly better. Take a look at the players who are currently hitting ahead of d’Arnaud:
- James Loney – a career .285/.338/.411 hitter who was released by the Rays prior to the start of the season.
- Wilmer Flores – a career .252/.290/.383 hitter who lost his starting job to Ruben Tejada last year and was never considered for a starting job this season
- Brandon Nimmo – a promising rookie
Given how much d’Arnaud progressed last year, it is easy to say he is better than these options, and accordingly, he should hit higher in the lineup. However, d’Arnaud is struggling this year only hitting .206/.270/.250 with no homers. There are various reasons for these struggles from his wrapping his hands around Julio Franco style when he bats to him starting with an open stance and closing it as the pitch is being delivered. He’s just not as quiet in his stance as he was last year when he was having his most successful season. It’s possible some of these changes were made due to his shoulder. It’s also possible these changes were made due to the struggles he has been facing while hitting eighth in the order.
In 17 of his 19 games this year, d’Arnaud has hit .203/.277/.254 while hitting eighth in the order. For his career, he is hitting .194/.278/.287 from that spot in the lineup. That includes him going 0-3 against the Nationals yesterday. In his entire career, d’Arnaud has never hit well out of the eighth spot in the lineup. It has been more of the same this year, and quite possibly, it has led to d’Arnaud reverting to some bad habits at the plate. The Mets need to get him going in order to help with their offensive woes. It’s possible the best way to cure help him and the Mets is to take him out of the eighth spot.
Going into the season, the major concern was Tommy John. There was the fear that Noah Syndergaard would need Tommy John surgery due to his velocity and work load. There was concern over whether Zack Wheeler would be able to successfully return from Tommy John surgery. There was less of a concern about whether Josh Edgin could as well. There were concerns over how Matt Harvey would handle his second year post Tommy John surgery. All of that concern was misplaced.
As it turns out, everyone should have been concerned over bone spurs even if Syndergaard won’t admit he has one.Both Syndergaard and Steven Matz have gone from All Star Cy Young caliber seasons to everyone wondering if they need surgery, if their seasons are over. We don’t know when the problems began, but we do know that something is affecting them now.
Starting with Matz, who has admitted an elbow problem, there has been a precipitous drop off in his pitching. In a nine start stretch, Matz was 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA and a 1.007 WHIP while averaging roughly 6.2 innings per start. He was limiting batters to a .222/.266/.282 batting line. At that point, Matz was the favorite for the Rookie of the Year award. He was putting up All Star caliber numbers. His last three starts present a much different pitcher.
In Matz’s last three starts, he is 0-1 with a 6.61 ERA and a 1.470 WHIP while only averaging roughly 5.1 innings per start. Batters are teeing off on him to the tune of a .324/.338/.529 batting line. What is really troubling in each of these starts is that Matz falls apart in the fifth inning. In each of the aforementioned three starts, he has no allowed one run through the first four innings of a game. The worst of it was when the woeful Braves offense chased Matz from the game after allowing six runs in two-thirds of an inning. Now, he’s missing today’s start, and the Mets are debating whether or not he needs surgery.
Syndergaard is a more interesting case as he’s denying the bone spurs rumors, but again like Matz something is wrong. As the season began, all we could talk about what Syndergaard’s new 95 MPH slider, and his emergence as the ace of the Mets pitching staff. Up until his last two starts, Syndergaard was 7-2 with a 1.91 ERA and a 0.965 WHIP. He was averaging roughly 6.2 innings per start. He stymied batters limiting them to a .223/.252/.312 batting line. If Clayton Kershaw were not alive, we would have been talking not just about the Cy Young award but also the possibility that Syndergaard is the best pitcher in baseball.
In Syndergaard’s last two starts we saw something uncharacteristic from him. He struggled. While his pitching line from his June 22nd start against Kansas City didn’t raise any red flags his pitching did. Syndergaard didn’t seem to have the pinpoint command he has had all year, and on a couple of occassions, he crossed up his catcher Rene Rivera. At the time, it was seen as a blip on the radar, but after last night’s start and the reports from yesterday, there is a real reason for concern.
The Nationals, who are no offensive powerhouse themselves, took Syndergaard to the woodshed. Syndergaard only lasted three innings allowing five earned runs. To put it in perspective, Syndergaard only allowed five earned runs in all of April. He had a season high three walks. Runners were stealing bases left and right off of him and Travis d’Arnaud. Now Ron Darling did point out that he didn’t seem in sync with Travis d’Arnaud, but was that really the problem? This is the second straight start Syndergaard has had trouble locating pitches. There are a numbers of explanations why that could be the case, but after the reports of his having a bone spur in his elbow, the bone spur seems to be the most likely reason for Syndergaard’s recent struggles.
Overall, Matz and Syndergaard might be fine and be able to finish out the year. Right now, that proposition is a little hard to believe seeing them struggle recently and hearing news about bone spurs in their elbows. If Syndergaard and Matz are unable to pitch effectively through these bone spurs, the Mets are going to be in trouble. If that is the case, it will be bone spurs, not Tommy John, that will damage the Mets chances of going back to the World Series.
In the top of the third, the Mets went up 4-0, and it seemed like the game was over. The Mets were hitting Nationals’ starter Joe Ross hard. The Mets had Noah Syndergaard on the mound who never loses with a four run lead:
Noah Syndergaard is 13-1 in his career when the @Mets score 4+ runs in a game
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 28, 2016
Then the bottom of the third happened. The Nationals would send nine men to the plate. The Nationals scored five runs on five hits, one walk, and four stolen bases. Like most of baseball, the Nationals ran wild on Syndergaard:
.@Nationals running wild on division rivals with 6 stolen bases. https://t.co/KQ4dixHN7L pic.twitter.com/8XsZ3CS3Nz
— MLB (@MLB) June 28, 2016
Syndergaard just didn’t have it tonight. As Ron Darling would say, Syndergaard looked flustered. For a pitcher that rarely walks anyone, he issued three walks. He threw a wild pitch in the fateful third. With him previously complaining of some elbow soreness, and the recent Steven Matz news, there will be some Mets fans who panic. Mercifully, Collins pulled Matz after three innings after he threw 71 pitches allowing seven hits, five earned, and three walks with five strikeouts.
In true Mets fashion, an embattled Ross would settle down. Neither he nor the other Nationals pitchers would allow another run.
However, Sean Gilmartin and Erik Goeddel would. Gilmartin pitched two innings allowing seven hits, five earned, and one walk with one strikeout. Goeddel allowed a run on three hits with a walk and a strikeout in two innings. Amazingly, Antonio Bastardo was the only Mets pitcher that didn’t allow a run.
The only thing worse than the Mets pitching tonight was James Loney‘s defense. To say he had fall-down left, fall-down right range would’ve been complimentary. During the key rallies, there were a few balls hit by him that a first baseman with range could’ve fielded. He also made a mental error in the fifth inning. With the infield in, he fielded a ball off the bat of Ben Revere. Instead of stepping on first, he threw home to try to get Danny Espinosa, who he had no chance of throwing out at the plate. Revere would later score on a Jayson Werth double.
The fifth inning might still be happening if not for Werth’s classless play. With the score 10-4, Werth broke home on a Bryce Harper infield single, and Loney easily threw him out.
Overall, the Nationals beat the Mets in every way possible. It was an 11-4 laugher for them:
#Nats lead 6-4 heading to Bottom 5 thanks to Murph's 50th RBI of the season.#VoteMurph: https://t.co/H43Xregbxb pic.twitter.com/2u5qMfyJzI
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 28, 2016
Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo collected his first career hit and run scored. He finished the night 2-4 with a run.
When the Mets activated Travis d’Arnaud from the disabled list, they decided to send Kevin Plawecki down to AAA and keep Rene Rivera. Obviously, Rivera is going to serve as d’Arnaud’s backup, but there is also a possibility that he could have an expanded role with the team as Noah Syndergaard‘s personal catcher. It is a move that makes a lot of sense for both the Mets and Syndergaard.
It is no secret that Syndergaard struggles holding runners on base. This became painfully obvious on April 25th when the Reds were a perfect five for five in stolen base attempts. In Syndergaard’s next start, Brandon Crawford and Matt Duffy each stole a base while he was pitching. Coming into that game, Crawford had stole 14 bases over five years and Duffy had not stolen a base all year. For his career, base runners were 27 for 30 in stolen base attempts when he was on the mound. Through May 1st, base stealers were 12/13 in five games This was something that could have become a mental issue for a pitcher that was on the brink of realizing his full potential as an ace.
After that game, Terry Collins began to have River catch Syndergaard. With In fact, Rivera has caught eight of Syndergaard’s last nine starts. In those eight starts, there have been fewer stolen base attempts. Part of this has been Syndergaard making adjustments. A larger part of that was Rivera’s arm behind the plate. While base runners are still having success on the base paths, Rivera’s presence has at least allowed Syndergaard to focus on the batter instead of being overly concerned with the running game.
Overall, Rivera’s presence is a big reason why he should be Syndergaard’s personal catcher. With the Rays, Rivera was a part in the development of Chris Archer, who is a pitcher with every bit of the potential and ability as Syndergaard. With Rivera behind the plate, opposing batters hit for a 93 OPS+ as opposed to a 100 OPS+ with other catchers. With Rivera gone this year, Archer is struggling. He is 4-9 with a 4.60 ERA and a 1.442 WHIP. Rivera has had a similar effect on Syndergaard this year. When River is behind the plate, Syndergaard has a 2.12 ERA and 1.026 WHIP. This is the lowest ERA and WHIP combination Syndergaard has with any Mets catcher who has caught him for more than one game.
Aside from the positive effect of a Syndergaard/Rivera pairing, there is another consideration. Throughout his career, d’Arnaud has had trouble staying on the field. If the Mets were to give him every fifth day off during a Syndergaard start, it might allow him to be fresher as the season progresses. As he’s fresher, he may be less prone to injury. Presumably, not having his top hitting hand abused by Syndergaard’s 100 MPH fastballs could be beneficial to d’Arnaud when he’s at bat. Overall, this could be a very successful strategy that other pitching dependent teams have used in the past.
During the Braves run with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz, Maddux used a personal catcher. It was mostly Eddie Perez who puts up similar offensive numbers to Rivera. Maddux felt comfortable with Perez behind the plate. Judging from Maddux’s Hall of Fame statistics, it’s hard to fault him for wanting his personal catcher. Meanwhile, Glavine, Smoltz, and the rest of the Braves’ starting staff used the Braves’ starting catcher which was the offensively superior Javy Lopez. With Lopez getting those additional days off, he was stronger as the season progressed, and he put up terrific offensive numbers. Given how similarly these Braves teams are built to the current Mets team, the Mets should really consider following this model especially when you see how well a Syndergaard-Rivera pairing has worked.
This was a bizarre day even for the Mets. The Mets sent down Michael Conforto and calling-up Brandon Nimmo. Jose Reyes was brought back despite the domestic violence incident. With all of that going on, the Mets still had a game to play.
Jacob deGrom was shaky early on needing a few double plays to get out of a couple of innings unscathed. Overall, he pitched well against a bad Braves team. His final like was eight innings, seven hits, no runs, one walk, and six strikeouts. However, he did not get the win as the Mets offense failed him.
There was a threat in the third when Yoenis Cespedes tried to stretch a single into a double. He was easily out at second when he refused to slide. Instead of second and third with one it, Curtis Granderson stood alone on the basepaths with two outs. A Neil Walker pop out would put an end to the Mets only real threat against Braves’ starter Julio Teheran.
Teheran matched deGrom zero for zero. He too lasted eight innings. He only allowed five hits, no runs, and no walks with seven strikeouts. You could call it a pitcher’s duel between two talented pitchers. You could also call it an contest in ineptitude between two dreadful offenses.
The Braves chance for a walk-off win was stymied in the ninth when Granderson made a sliding catch in foul territory to end the inning and send the game into extras.
The Mets finally broke through in the eleventh when ex-Brave Kelly Johnson hit a homer off ex-Met Dario Alvarez to put the Mets up 1-0. All that was needed was for Jeurys Familia to shut the door and recorded his 26th straight save to open the season. Given the Mets luck and Familia pitching more than one inning thd night before, it didn’t promise to be easy. It wasn’t.
The Braves had a runner on second with one out and Freddie Freeman coming to the plate. At that point, Terry Collins made something readily apparent. He watches Mets games as closely as Mets fans do. He knows Freeman kills the Mets like other Braves’ Mets killers in the past like Chipper Jones (sorry Larry), Brian Jordan, etc. With that in mind, Collins ordered Famila to intentionally walk Freeman.
It was a smart play as it prevented Freemam from killing the Mets again. It was a smart play as it set up the double play. When Nick Markakis hit the comebacker, the Mets got end the game by turning the double play. The 1-6-3 double play was the Mets third of the night.
With all the emotion from today and drama that followed the Mets around most of this year, it is easy to forget the Mets are only two games back in the division and one in the loss column. The Mets will try to get closer tomorrow.
Game Notes: In honor of the Negro Leagues, the Mets wore Brooklyn Royal Giants gear. As Nimmo didn’t get to Atlanta in time, the Mets started Alejandro De Aza, who was 0-4 with a strikeout. Travis d’Arnaud threw out another would be base stealer.
This was supposed to be an easy game. The Mets were up 5-0 heading into the top of the fifth. James Loney hit a three run homer to make it 8-0. However, that’s not all that happened in the top of the fifth. Steven Matz was rubbing his pitching elbow in the dugout. Everyone saw him doing this but Terry Collins and Dan Warthen.
Matz came out in the fifth throwing a slower fastball (from 94 MPH to 92 MPH). The Braves opened the inning with three consecutive doubles. The second double was a can of corn off the bat of Nick Markakis, but Yoenis Cespedes lost it. It’s not really on Cespedes as the outfield lighting at Turner Field is a joke.
So it’s safe to say @ynscspds didn’t have a beat on this fly ball: https://t.co/v5HskiFO7x pic.twitter.com/iyd4JQtCrR
— Cut4 (@Cut4) June 25, 2016
That’s the type of inning it was as Matz allowed six earned on eight hits. The big blow was a Brandon Snyder opposite field pinch hit three run homer.
Matz would eventually get chased after a Freddie Freeman RBI single. Hansel Robles then came in to bail out the Mets and preserve the bullpen again. The latter was very important with Addison Reed and Jerry Blevins unavailable. Robles got out of the inning without allowing another run. He would go 2.2 innings for yet another well earned win. For the week, Robles has pitched 8.1 innings.
Everything seemed calm down until Cespedes was picked off base in the seventh. Cespedes rolled his ankle stepping on first and had to be helped off the field. Every Mets fan breathed a sigh of relief as Cespedes took the field in the bottom of the seventh.
Once Cespedes was alright, it was easy to admit that a lot of good things happened tonight:
- Neil Walker was 3-4 with three runs scored
- Loney was 2-3 with three runs, three RBI, a double, and a homer
- Travis d’Arnaud was 1-4 with three RBI
The last two RBI were interesting. For some reason, the Braves walked Michael Conforto to load the bases to face d’Arnaud. Considering the fact that Conforto has been terrible since May, it was an odd decidion, and d’Arnaud made the Braves pay with a two RBI single.
It was good to see the Mets offense clicking, and it was great to see Jeurys Familia break Armando Benitez‘s record for consecutive saves to begin the season.
Familia would have to go four outs for his 25th save. Antonio Bastardo allowed a two out double to Markakis in the eighth, and Terry Collins went to Familia. Familia got Adonis Garcia, last night’s villain, to get out of the inning. However, the ninth wouldn’t be easy.
Familia allowed the first two on base, and then Chase d’Arnaud, Travis’ brother, was sent up to bunt. Wilmer Flores dove for the bunt, but barely missed it. However, it confused the Braves. Flores ran back to third for the force, and he threw to second to complete the unconventional 5-5-4 double play. Familia struck out the last batter if the game.
Still, that pitch went to the backstop. It forced d’Arnaud to race to the backstop and make a quick throw to first. It was off-line, but Loney held the bag to end the game.
It was a fitting end to a strange 8-6 game that was never easy.