Braves drop series finale, 6-4, despite big game from Uptons
By Harris B Nye
Apr 10, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Justin Upton (8) hits a two-run home run against the New York Mets during the third inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Braves fell 6-4 to the New York Mets on Thursday night, with David Hale and the Braves bullpen being unable to contain Eric Young and the Mets offense.
Eric Young was a terror for the Mets all night, stealing three bases and scoring four runs. The Braves catchers were powerless to keep the Mets from running in the series, with the Mets stealing eight bases after having stolen none previously. David Murphy was Young’s partner in crime driving Young in three different times in the game. The Mets managed six runs total the most runs the Braves pitching has allowed all season.
After facing criticism and scrutiny all season, the Upton brothers managed to break out in a big way for one night at least. After a day of analysis of the Upton’s struggles by Baseball Prospectus entitled “Upton Day”, BJ Upton managed to hit a triple and score a run while Justin Upton blasted two homers. The first of Justin’s homers was a wall scraper to the opposite field but Justin’s second was a no doubt monster to left field. The Braves scored three of their runs off Justin’s homers and the fourth was knocked in by Freddie Freeman who continues to justify the high level of confidence he expressed in himself in comments he made prior to the game.
The Braves four runs would have been enough to win on most nights this season but David Hale and the Braves bullpen struggled all night. Hale walked five batters in five innings of work which was more than he had walked in his big league career to this point. Gus Schllosser continued his inauspicious start to his Braves career allowing two runs to score that proved to be the decisive difference in the game.
The Braves dropped two of three to the Mets losing their first series of the season. The Nationals will be in town on weekend in another important series, as all series with the Nats figure to be this season. Stay tuned for our full coverage.