Atlanta Braves continue slide, drop series to Mets
The Atlanta Braves, for whatever reason, can’t seem to figure out the New York Mets. After seeing their nine game winning streak come to an end on Sunday, the Braves have now dropped four in a row, including the first three of this weeks’ series against the Mets, as the popular “#RISPFail,” hit the Braves again, and hard, as New York emerged with a 4-1 victory.
It was a rough opening inning for Braves starter Ervin Santana, who allowed several hard hit balls and a tough-luck run to come across in the Mets’ first frame of offense. After that, he settled down immensely, until the seventh inning that is, when the Mets took the lead in a, at the time, 1-1 game, when David Wright doubled on your every day single, allowing him to score on a flyout.
The big blow was dealt by Travis d’Arnaud, who has had trouble in the big-league Mets uni, as he ripped a hanging slider deep into the left field seats to put the game at its inevitable end, the 4-1 final. When all was said and done, Santana went seven innings, allowed six hits and four runs while walking two and striking out four. Oh yeah, he scored the only Braves run, scoring from first base as Freddie Freeman doubled off the wall in the Citi out-Field.
On the other side of things, Dillon Gee, who made his first start since May 10th, made things look incredibly easy, as he also went seven innings, quietly allowed two hits and also struck out four. He did find himself in some trouble, including what ultimately lead to his departure in the game when the Braves had Tommy La Stella at second and Gerald Laird at first after Laird singled on a bunt (seriously, I couldn’t make that up), but Terry Collins believed in his bullpen. Which almost turned out being a mistake. The final batter of that eighth inning was Andrelton Simmons, who nearly tied the game with one swing of the bat, but warning track power prevailed, and the Mets escaped unscathed.
In the ninth inning, the Braves were able to threaten, ultimately putting men at the corner, but they couldn’t get them across as Atlanta would fall for the fourth time in a row.
While defensively it wasn’t as ugly as last night’s affair, it still wasn’t pleasant to watch tonight, especially with all the LOBsters that were left on the basepaths. Let’s hope the Braves can salvage the final game of this series, or you will feel the wrath of unrational Braves twitter.