Mets vs Braves Recap: Mets win 4-3 as Wright hits two home runs but Niese exits early with shoulder discomfort

If not for Jon Niese's fourth-inning exit due to left shoulder pain, this would have been a wholly satisfying win for the Mets over the first-place Braves. Many Mets players contributed something to the win, which was the Mets' fourth in their last six games.

Niese left with one out in the fourth inning after showing obvious discomfort following a pitch to Tyler Pastornicky. He was pulled without much discussion among the coaching staff, which was the prudent decision. Niese will head back to New York for tests on his shoulder and oh please let Niese be okay. He had given up three runs on eight hits in his brief outing tonight but I thought his stuff looked better than those numbers suggest. His velocity was strong, early on at least, and his curveball looked sharp. Niese struck out five, walked none, and generated an impressive 12 swinging strikes on just 61 pitches. He left with the Mets down 3-1 but thanks to the Mets' uncharacteristically stout bullpen, the Braves would not score again.

David Aardsma, LaTroy Hawkins, Brandon Lyon, Josh Edgin, and Bobby Parnell combined to throw 5.2 scoreless innings, striking out three and walking one. Edgin accounted for the biggest out of the night, getting Jason Heyward to ground out to first base with runners on first and third with two outs in the eighth inning. Edgin has been better of late and it would be nice if he could give fellow southpaw Scott Rice a breather in the bullpen.

David used to own left-handers.

- Gary Cohen, shortly before David Wright hit a solo home run off lefty Braves starter Mike Minor in the first inning. Wright again took Minor deep in the third inning.

The Mets hit three solo home runs tonight, two by David Wright and one by recently-recalled Andrew Brown. Wright's slash line is now .304/.390/.514, which is outstanding and almost identical to his career line. Brown's was a pinch-hit shot which tied the game 3-3 in the fifth inning. Maybe Brown should get some more playing time because why the heck not? The Mets scored the decisive run in the seventh inning when pinch hitter Josh Satin doubled home Omar Quintanilla, who had doubled to lead off the frame. It was a nice moment for Satin, who has enjoyed a fine minor-league career with the Mets organization but until tonight hadn't done much in the majors. Good for him, he deserved the post-game interview.

Juan Lagares went 2-for-4 and played a solid game in center field. Daniel Murphy struggled at the plate tonight but was strong defensively. He robbed Freddie Freeman of a base hit leading off the ninth inning, which helped Parnell send the Braves down one-two-three to seal the win. Murphy also played the middle man in a 6-4-3 double play in the seventh inning, nailing the speedy B.J. Upton at first base. Noted Upton-hater Gary Cohen could barely contain his joy in the moment.

The Mets became the first away team to win a series at Turner Field this season. It's a shame about Niese; if not for his possible injury, the Mets and their fans would have reason to be in relatively good spirits.

Next up, the Phillies. Here are the pitching matchups for the weekend series in Philadelphia:

Friday, June 21st: Jeremy Hefner vs Cole Hamels
Saturday, June 22nd: Dillon Gee vs Jonathan Pettibone
Sunday, June 23rd: Matt Harvey vs John Lannan

SB Nation Coverage

* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* Talking Chop Gamethread

Win Probability Added

(What's this?)

Big winners: David Wright +21.0%, Bobby Parnell +18.7%
Big losers: Jon Niese -18.2%, Daniel Murphy -14.1%,
Teh aw3s0mest play: Josh Satin RBI double in the seventh inning +16.1%
Teh sux0rest play: Omar Quintanilla grounds into double play in the fourth inning -19.4%
Total pitcher WPA: +40.6%
Total batter WPA: +9.4%
GWRBI!: Josh Satin RBI double in the seventh inning