ATLANTA — It was the largest second of the season and the Mets failed to satisfy it.
When the Mets landed in Atlanta, they’d a one-game lead on the Braves within the NL East. They left two video games again after a sweep by the hands of their division rivals, and Atlanta now owns the season tiebreaker. They fell 5-3 on Sunday night time within the sequence finale at Truist Park, capping a disappointing weekend which will have sealed their destiny as a wild card staff.
If this was a litmus take a look at to see how the Mets (98-61) stack up subsequent to the defending World Series champs in crunch time, then it’s clear that this squad isn’t there but. They had been outplayed in practically each side of the sport. They had three aces lined up — two of that are among the finest big-game pitchers on the planet — they usually failed the take a look at towards the Braves (100-59).
“They pitched a little bit better than we did and they swung the bats a little bit better than we did. We had trouble keeping the ball in the ballpark, but that’s been the case with (the Braves) all year,” supervisor Buck Showalter mentioned. “They beat us one more time than we beat them this year. Our guys are having a good year but it didn’t work for us the last three games.”
Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt mixed for 11 earned runs over 14 1/3 innings. These are the varieties of video games these pitchers had been born for, they usually couldn’t come via.
But it’s not that easy. Atlanta’s lineup is without doubt one of the finest and deepest in baseball. Dansby Swanson and Matt Olson hit house runs in all three video games of the sequence, with Swanson taking all three starters deep.
“I threw a 3-2 pitch middle-middle and he hit,” Bassitt mentioned of the home-run pitch he threw Swanson within the first inning. “A world-class hitter that just put a good swing on a really bad pitch.”
The Mets, then again, scored solely seven runs over 27 innings. That’s not sufficient for any pitcher, not to mention elite ones like deGrom and Scherzer. Much has been made about how the Braves are homer-heavy and the Mets manufacture runs, however they didn’t manufacture many.
That level was underscored within the third inning after they scored two runs and stranded two runners. The Mets put 9 runners on over the primary three innings, driving up Charlie Morton’s pitch depend. But they plated solely three of them.
Daniel Vogelbach homered off Morton to steer off the second inning and tie the sport at 1-1. Jeff McNeil, who’s chasing former Braves and present Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman for the batting title, led off the third with one in every of his personal. Morton then gave up three straight singles to attain Pete Alonso. The backside of the order went down so as and the Mets got here away with solely a one-run lead.
It wasn’t sufficient.
Former Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud blew the sport open within the backside of the inning with a two-run single off of Bassitt. Olson’s third homer of the sport got here off Seth Lugo within the sixth.
Bassitt (15-9) was shaky from the beginning and lasted simply 2 2/3 innings, giving up 4 earned runs on three hits, strolling three and hitting one. Bassitt, considerably uncharacteristically, couldn’t discover his command.
“I kept waiting for him to fall in step,” Showalter mentioned. “Chris has done that some nights, misses pitches then he’s kind of off and running. Kind of what their guy did — he made an adjustment and got a little deeper in the game. But Chris has been one of our best pitchers and didn’t have it tonight.”
Some of the Mets’ largest hitters failed to come back via throughout the sequence, together with Francisco Lindor, who went simply 2-for-13 on the weekend and struck out with the bases loaded within the third.
“I didn’t make the adjustments quick enough,” Lindor mentioned. “They pitched well and I’ve got to give a lot of the credit to the pitching staff who executed. I didn’t have the series that I wanted to have. That’s motivation to be better. I just need to be better.”
The Mets are desperately clinging to a constructive angle and a chance to redeem themselves towards the Washington Nationals at house this week. Showalter additionally mentioned they’re desirous to make one other staff pay. They might get an opportunity to try this to the Braves later in October since there’s nonetheless an opportunity these two groups meet, although it possible wouldn’t be till the NLCS.
To get there, they’ll must be taking part in significantly better baseball than this.
“Tip your hat to Atlanta,” Showalter mentioned. “And hope you get a chance to play ‘em again.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com