Mets Lose Back and Forth Game as Bullpen Falters Again

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 7 Atlanta Braves: 8

Bullpen Loses Back and Forth Game For Mets

The Mets lost their second game after the All-Star break and third overall in heartbreaking fashion to the Atlanta Braves 8-7 Saturday afternoon.  The Mets were resilient, falling behind early but mounting a comeback.  The comeback went for naught though, as the bullpen again fell apart and was unable to hold the lead.

The bullpen was put in such a situation because of an off-day from starting pitcher R.A. Dickey.  Dickey finished the game giving up eight hits and two walks that resulted in five earned runs.  He struck out four Braves as well. The wheels fell off for Dickey because of a reversed call in the 5^th inning.

Left Fielder Jordany Valdespin made a play initially ruled as a catch in the 5^th inning.  The play resulted as a double play at first, but after huddling together the umpires decided that the ball had actually been trapped by Valdespin.  The umpires placed Martin Prado on second base, not wanting to penalize him for correctly seeing the ball drop and Jason Heyward was awarded first.

Mets manager Terry Collins was ejected after arguing the play.  Dickey would retire the next batter Chipper Jones, enabling the runners to each move up a base.  Dickey was not as fortunate with the next batter, as Freddie Freeman knocked in a two-run double to give the Braves a 5-3 lead.

Dickey was bailed out by the Mets offense, as they actually got him in position to win before the bullpen imploded again at the end.

Josh Edgin was impressive in his second major league appearance, striking out the side around one walk.  Edgin has struck out five of the six lefty batters he has faced, looking to earn a permanent spot in the Mets bullpen.

Bobby Parnell was brought on to make a five-out save and was unable to do so.  Parnell came in with two runners on and let them score while giving up another earned run of his own.  Parnell allowed back-to-back-to-back RBI singles to Michael Bourn, Martin Prado and Jason Heyward to give the Braves an 8-7 lead in the bottom of the 8^th inning. 

Ike Davis had another strong day at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a double and his 13^th homerun of the season.  Jordany Valdespin continued his great play since being called back up, going 2 for 5 with an RBI.  Ruben Tejada also had a strong day, going 2 for 5 with two RBI’s.

David Wright struggled from the plate, seeming to not be able to pick up on the ball coming out of the Braves pitchers hands.  Wright suffered the golden sombrero, going 0 for 5 with four strikeouts on the afternoon.

The Mets will look to avoid the sweep Sunday afternoon against the Braves as Johan Santana (6-5, 3.24 ERA) will take the mound against Ben Sheets, who will be making his first start of the season and first appearance in the majors in two seasons for the Braves.  

Mets Disappoint in Opener of Important Stretch

Friday, July 13th 2012
Final Score: New York Mets: 5 Atlanta Braves: 7

Mets Disappoint in Opener of Important Stretch

The Mets started a stretch of games that could determine the outcome of their season on a loss, falling to the Atlanta Braves 7-5.  This series against the Braves starts a stretch of four series in which the Mets will play teams directly connected to their own playoff hopes, heading to Washington following this trip to Atlanta and finishing it up in Queens against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Nationals again.

“The next month will determine a lot,” said Mets manager Terry Collins.  “We’ve got Washington three times, I think.  We’ve got the Braves twice. We’ve got the Dodgers.  We go on the West Coast swing.  You know what that can mean.  You’re talking about Arizona, who is playing better.  The Giants, who are fighting.  You’ve got to go play San Diego in their place.  Even though they’re not playing the way they want to, certainly, they can always be tough out there, and that’s at the end of an 11-day road trip.  That’s a tough trip.  We’re going to know how we’re standing when we get to August 1^st, if we’re still in the dogfight.”

Collins will have plenty of tough decisions to make leading up to and during that time, and the first one was made tonight.  Collins was persistent in saying that he would not hesitate using lefty call-up Josh Edgin in a pressure situation and he kept his word.

Edgin came in after Miguel Batista, who walked four batters in 1.1 innings of work, made a mess of things with the bases loaded and retired the Braves to keep the Mets deficit at 5-4.  He came back for the next inning and was successful at the start, but could not finish the inning.

After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Edgin served up a homerun to Chipper Jones, which was followed by a Freddie Freeman double.  Collins had seen enough and pulled Edgin. 

Edgin was charged with two runs after Ramon Ramirez came in and surrendered a single which knocked in Freeman.

Another tough decision Collins will have to make is with the starting rotation because of Dillon Gee’s injury.  The decision was not made any easier after Chris Young’s performance tonight.

Young had his shortest outing of the season, surrendering five earned runs in three innings.  It was a rough night for Young, who surrendered three walks and six hits in his short outing only striking out two Braves. 

The poor performance could have been because of a lack of readiness, as Young was the third person in line for this start. Johan Santana was originally named but his ankle would not allow him to go.  Next in line Gee was diagnosed with a blood clot in his arm, rendering him unavailable to make the start.

Some positives for the Mets was that Andres Torres was able to return.  It was his first action since July 4^th because of discomfort in his back.

Ruben Tejada, David Wright and Scott Hairston were all able to get two hits for the Mets, who were just unable to keep the Braves in check when needed.

Next up for the Mets and Braves is an afternoon game Saturday on Fox Saturday Baseball game of the week at 4:05 P.M. ET.  R.A. Dickey (12-1, 2.40 ERA) will make his first start of the second half, being opposed by Braves starter Tommy Hanson (10-5, 3.71 ERA).