This Mets-Braves sequence has re-stoked the fires of a longstanding rivalry. The NL East’s greatest met in Atlanta this weekend with an opportunity to say the division crown, however that crown is not going to be awarded this weekend and the Mets are working out of time to earn it.
After main the division for a lot of the season, the Mets misplaced the primary two video games of the sequence and squandered a possibility to achieve separation. They’re now one recreation behind as they attempt to salvage the sequence with Chris Bassitt on the hill for Sunday’s sequence finale on ESPN.
“As the saying goes, you’re only as good as your next day’s starting pitcher and Bassitt has been really good for us this year,” Max Scherzer mentioned after taking the loss Saturday. “We need him to go out there and do his thing and we believe he will win.”
The perception system presently of yr is nice and any good group does want a certain quantity of it to succeed. Ya gotta consider, proper?
But execution is healthier. Great groups execute. And the Mets aren’t executing in opposition to the Braves.
These are two groups constructed in two alternative ways and all through the season it’s been each a foul matchup for the Mets and a complete conflict for the Braves. It’s been the previous on this explicit sequence.
The distinction in Atlanta has been that the Braves have performed to their energy by hitting for energy whereas the Mets haven’t. This lineup is stacked with pure long-ball hitters. They lead the National League in residence runs they usually have the second-highest OPS behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
They hit residence runs with seeming ease off of two of the very best pitchers within the recreation within the first two video games, Jacob deGrom and Scherzer. Sure, they strike out so much, however that’s to be anticipated when you could have 9 guys swinging for the fences. You can reside with the strikeouts if the house runs are coming.
“They score runs the way you score runs off of Jake or Max — that’s pretty much just hitting home runs because you’re not going to really string hits together off of them,” Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo mentioned. “Hats off of them, they’re just peaking at the right time and they’re a good team. We’ve just been beat the last two days and we just have to come out and try and give it our best effort [Sunday].”
This isn’t the best way the Mets’ offense is constructed. It’s not fairly the antithesis but it surely’s a special type. The Mets, too, have a deep lineup, however they don’t have the identical kind of energy because the Braves or the Dodgers. The Amazins’ need to put the ball in play, make one thing occur on the bottom paths and belief prodigious hitters like Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Eduardo Escobar to push the runners over the plate. They manufacture runs.
The Mets preach endurance on the plate and their hitters draw walks and search for the fitting pitch. The group has a reasonably excessive stroll charge (8.3 p.c) and one of many lowest strikeout charges within the league (19.6 p.c).
They’ll hit residence runs, however that’s not how most of their runs are produced.
The drawback they’re working into now’s that they aren’t producing. They’ve scored solely 4 runs in a complete of 18 innings and whereas supervisor Buck Showalter factors to Atlanta’s proficient pitchers, that doesn’t absolve hitters who aren’t hitting in sure conditions.
Can the Mets win like this in October? We’ll discover out, however first they should string some runs collectively within the subsequent 4 video games in the event that they need to win their first division title since 2015.
“Well, it would certainly enhance our chances to win the division, wouldn’t it, captain obvious?” Showalter joked. “I feel everyone is aware of what’s forward of them and what it was after we bought right here. And so does Atlanta. That’s why you bought two actually good groups competing very late in October. That means so much to each of the groups.
“So you have to turn the page, emotionally and mentally and get ready for the next challenge.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com