David Peterson attempted to be the third Mets pitcher to complete six innings in a row this afternoon in Atlanta. However, trouble would find him and he wouldn’t make it to the end of the inning. It wasn’t just Peterson who came up short today, with the Mets dropping the finale of their three-game set with the Braves, 4-3.
Through the first five innings, Peterson was excellent. Over the first 15 outs, Peterson struck out eight, walked two, and allowed just three hits. But a pair of walks and two singles, the decisive of which was by Sean Murphy, led to two runs scoring to tie up the game in the bottom of the fifth. That would do it for Peterson, who left with a no-decision and a shorter than hoped for start.
The Mets were up 2-0 early on a second inning two-run home run from the suddenly red hot Mark Vientos. This was Vientos’s third home run in as many at-bats, a feat that ties him with 19 others in Mets history. But beyond that home run, the Mets’ bats couldn’t deliver with men on base. The Mets stranded eight through the first eight innings and went 0-6 with runners in scoring position.
In the bottom of the sixth and he seventh, the Mets got solid relief work from Brooks Raley and Huascar Brazobán, and looked to be holding on in a competitive game, something the team has struggled mightily to do as of late. In the bottom of the eighth, the ever-so-solid-thus-far Gregory Soto took the ball, and things fell apart. Ozzie Albies singled, Murphy walked, Vidal Bruján got punked, and Jurickson Profar drove a single to center which was bobbled by Cedric Mullins and plated two runs to give the Braves the lead.
To their credit, the Mets fought back in the ninth, with back to back singles by Mullins, Francisco Lindor, and Juan Soto to bring the Mets within one. But weak pop outs by Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil ended the frame and the inning with the Mets down a run.
This was a good series for the Mets and, if not for things like Soto just barely grazing Bruján’s pant leg, a sweep was not out of the question. It’s a bummer to lose a winnable game, but taking the series is a good outcome to take back to Citi Field when the Phillies come to town tomorrow. Kodai Senga will start the game on regular rest for the first time this season, and he will be opposed by Cristopher Sánchez.
Big Mets winner: Juan Soto, +15.0% WPA
Big Mets loser: Gregory Soto, -31.8%
Mets pitchers: -18.6% WPA
Mets hitters: -31.4% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Mark Vientos’s two-run home, +16.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Jurickson Profar’s two-run single, -30.6% WPA