Braves 4, Mets 0: Mets Once Again Drop Both Games of a Doubleheader

Mike Pelfrey got off to a good start as he induced a pair of groundball outs to start the game, but Chipper Jones picked up an infield hit on the third consecutive ground ball. He advanced to third base on an Eric Hinske line drive single, and scored on a groundball single by Dan Uggla. Jason Heyward appropriately grounded out to end the inning.

The Braves scored another run in the third inning on another series of ground balls. Martin Prado reached on a groundball single, was sacrifice bunted to second by Nate McLouth, stole third base, and scored on a groundball single by Chipper Jones. How'd the inning end? A groundball double play, of course.

Continuing the trend of allowing one run per odd-numbered inning, Pelfrey allowed the Braves to take a 3-0 lead in the fifth. Martin Prado doubled with one out, and after intentionally walking Larry, Pelfrey gave up a fly ball single to Eric Hinske that plated Prado. This inning came to an end on a great play by David Wright, who threw out Dan Uggla on a soft broken-bat ground ball.

In the sixth, Mike Pelfrey allowed three straight singles to start the inning, allowing one run to score before he was pulled in favor of Pedro Beato, who stopped the bleeding immediately. A sacrifice bunt by Jair Jurrjens was followed by a ground ball right back to Beato and a ground ball to Murphy, both of which resulted in outs.

Beato remained in the game to pitch the 7th inning, and he excelled, striking out Chipper Jones, Eric Hinske, and Dan Uggla in order. It's still early in the season, but Beato is making a case to work in high leverage situations. Taylor Buchholz also had an encouraging outing, tossing a flawless eighth inning.

At the plate, the Mets were dominated by Jair Jurrjens, and on the rare occasions that they reached base, they found other ways to make outs. Willie Harris was picked off first base after he singled in the second inning, and Daniel Murphy attempted an ill-advised steal of third base after doubling to lead off the sixth. Murphy's caught stealing was particularly mind-boggling. Eight straight Mets were retired after the sixth inning, but Jose Reyes reached base on a strikeout. Angel Pagan followed up by striking out, putting an end to the second disastrous doubleheader in three days.

Pelfrey's outing was a fine example of just how reliant he is upon luck and defense. Two of the four runs Pelfrey allowed scored during innings in which he didn't do anything particularly awful. When ground balls find holes in or through the infield, he and the Mets suffer. 

The Mets wrap up their series at Turner Field tomorrow afternoon, and Dillon Gee figures to get the start in place of the injured Chris Young. It doesn't get much worse than this, and hopefully the Mets can get a win in Atlanta before returning to Citi Field to face the Houston Astros.

K Counter by sparbz

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Win Probability Added

Big winners: Pedro Beato, +2.9% WPA
Big losers: Mike Pelfrey, -15.1% WPA, Jose Reyes, -7.2% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Daniel Murphy double in the sixth inning, +5.9% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Dan Uggla single in the first inning, -9.6% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -12.5% WPA
Total batter WPA: -37.5% WPA
GWRBI!: Dan Uggla

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by KeithsMoustache; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.