Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Game #125: Braves 4, Mets 1 (10)

Much like Dracula before them, New York shriveled up and died in the sunlight today.

A bang-bang call at first base by umpire Jerry Layne led to a Chris Johnson three-run home run in the 10th inning as the Braves topped the Mets 4-1 for a split of the short series.

The Bad Stuff:
  • With a runner on first and two out in the top of the 10th, Scott Rice mishandled a sharp groundball off the bat of Freddie Freeman. While Rice recovered, his throw to the bag was ruled too late and Freeman was awarded an infield single. The call could have gone either way, but it appeared Jerry Layne was incorrect in calling Freeman safe. One pitch later, Chris Johnson turned what could've been a 1-1 tie into a 4-1 Atlanta lead with a home run to left.
  • The Mets were powerless to solve the Braves' pitching from Alex Wood to Craig Kimbrel, laying an egg with RISP (nine at-bats) and stranding 10 men on base.
The Good Stuff:
  • Jonathon Niese continued his successful comeback tour by tossing seven innings of one-run, five-hit ball, including three walks and nine strikeouts on 106 pitches. Niese's only run against came in the aftermath of a 7th-inning pitch that accidentally hit Jason Heyward in the head.
  • Josh Satin liked what Ike Davis did so much last night that he did it himself, clubbing a towering shot down the left field line for a solo home run, his second longball of the season.
  • Daniel Murphy also had two hits, and Juan Lagares and Justin Turner smacked a double apiece.
Final Analysis:
As long as the human element remains a part of baseball, there will always be calls like this. I'm sure the Mets have benefited from such a mistake this season just as the Braves have now.

Today's game was yet another instance of one more big bat making the difference for the Mets. Add a key free agent or trade acquisition in the offseason, not to mention put a healthy David Wright on the field, and New York more than likely wins this ballgame. Oh, what exciting things to dream about.

MM

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