The Mets jumped out to an early lead, but things fell apart in the fourth inning as the Atlanta Braves rolled to a 20-2 win on a night New York would soon like to forget.
Here are the key takeaways …
– The Mets got to Max Fried right away in the first inning. After Kevin Pillar doubled to left on the very first pitch of the game, Pete Alonso also jumped on a first pitch from Fried, slamming a no-doubt two-run home run to left to put the Mets up 2-0.
– But it didn’t take much time at all for the Braves to answer off of David Peterson, as Ronald Acuna Jr. demolished a leadoff home run in the bottom half of the inning. Freddie Freeman then singled and moved to second on a wild pitch, soon after coming in to score on an Ozzie Albies single to right. Michael Conforto’s throw home was not a great one, and Freeman beat the play to tie the game at two. Peterson got out of the inning with no further damage, thanks to a caught stealing by James McCann and an unbelievable catch by Conforto in right.
– The game stayed tied into the third, when Austin Riley delivered a key two-out, two-run single off Peterson to put the Braves up 4-2. In the fourth, Peterson allowed an RBI single to Kevan Smith to make it a 5-2 game, and his night ended with a visit from Luis Rojas, Jeremy Hefner, and the head trainer. Peterson left the game with what the team called right side soreness, an injury the Mets can ill afford to be serious.
Peterson was charged with six runs (five earned) on eight hits in 3.0+ innings, though Sean Reid-Foley did not help his run total (more on that below).
– Reid-Foley was first up out of the bullpen for the Mets, but he was very ineffective, allowing five runs (four earned) while recording just one out. He also had a wild throw to second base that set up his entire poor outing.
After Reid-Foley was pulled, Thomas Szapucki made his big-league debut out of the bullpen. After making an ill-advised play on a bouncer back to him that allowed another Braves’ run to score, he threw a would-be wild pitch that ended up getting Guillermo Heredia caught in a rundown and tagged out between third and home for the final out.
Overall, it was a nightmare fourth inning for the Mets, as the Braves scored seven runs and broke the game wide open at 11-2.
– Szapucki’s debut was not the smoothest, though he came into the game in a tough spot with runners on base. In the fifth, he allowed a monster two-run homer to Albies to make it a 13-2 game. He also gave up another long home run to Ehire Adrianza in the seventh, but he ate up innings for the Mets on a night they needed it.
The Mets wanted Szapucki to finish on the mound, but he was clearly gassed in the eighth as he loaded the bases with nobody out. The Mets let Albert Almora Jr. try to finish the game on the mound, and the Braves hit him hard, as Albies cracked a three-run homer to make it 20-2.
Szapucki was charged with seven runs allowed (six earned) in 3.2 innings, as he threw 82 pitches in relief.
Highlights
What’s next
The Mets and Braves close out their series on Thursday night at 7:20 p.m. on SNY.
Jacob deGrom will toe the rubber against Braves righty Ian Anderson.