Mets vs. Braves recap: Bartolo and the Mets sweep the Braves, and set a record

The train just keeps on rolling. The New York Mets won their eleventh game in a row, which ties them for the club record for consecutive wins. The Mets also did something that they've never done before: sweep a ten-game homestand. Now think back to February, everyone who saw the Mets doing all that and having the best record in baseball, please raise your hand.

Daniel Murphy provided most of the scoring today, in a variety of ways. In the first inning, Julio Teheran walked three men to load the bases, and Murphy made them pay by scorching a double to right field. After the Braves grabbed one back on a home-plate collision in the second inning—which we'll talk about shortly—Murphy nearly burned the Mets when he mishandled a double play ball in the fourth. The Braves tied it shortly after on an Andrelton Simmons single and a Jace Peterson sacrifice fly.

Murphy had a shot at redemption with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth but fanned on an outside fastball. The Mets found their way back on top, however, after Eric Campbell walked with the bases loaded and the boys from Queens never looked back. Juan Lagares scored on a replay-assisted Michael Cuddyer single in the seventh, and Murphy followed with a bit of redemption, by bringing Cuddyer home on a single to make it 6-3.

One of the big plot points of this game—besides the fact that Bartolo Colon ran down A.J. Pierzynski on a pickoff attempt—is going to be the replays. There were three of them and all were pretty strange.

The first one involved Bartolo Colon sliding across first base to make a play. Colon's incredibly flexible, gymnast-like maneuver hid the ball from the umpire, who missed that he had made it to the bag before Alberto Callaspo on a double play turn.

The third was less exciting, as it just involved the umpire making a bad call on a Michael Cuddyer fielder's choice in the bottom of seventh, that allowed Juan Lagares to score.

But it was the second challenge that is going to be the one that's talked about.

In the top of the second, Andrelton Simmons doubled on a well-struck ball to center. A.J. Pierzynski made the turn at third, and after Juan Lagares made a stellar throw to Daniel Murphy, Murphy appeared to gun down Pierzynski, who was sliding through the feet of Anthony Recker.

The umpire called Pierzynski out, which appeared to be the right call based on the replay, but the Braves challenged saying that Recker was blocking the plate. Pierzynski had a clear lane through Recker's legs, and the two didn't collide violently, yet Pierzynski was called safe because Recker was standing in front of the plate before he had the ball. The Mets have been on the wrong side of these plays on a few occasions in the past two seasons, and the frustration was noticeable between the fans and social media, especially since Pierzynski was clearly out, but a rule is a rule, and by definition Recker was blocking the plate and Pierzynski should have been called safe.

Terrible call. @mlb needs to change that. If you don't want to take the risk of getting hurt then get out of the way. Leave it up to the

— Zack Wheeler (@Wheelerpro45) April 23, 2015

The bullpen was again good today. Buddy Carlyle got a quick three outs and was followed by Alex Torres. Torres gave up a single, but was otherwise effective, allowing only one hit. Jeurys Familia once again closed the door and looked stellar in the process. After the game, Terry Collins spoke to how Familia's mentality has changed, and how he's gotten much more aggressive since taking over the closer's roll. He's certainly looked good, and has alleviated much of the fear that Jenrry Mejia's suspension brought on.

Now the Mets have a big test, as they head to the Bronx to take on the suddenly hot Yankees. While the games are just as important as any other, there's likely to be a lot of chatter about the Mets' legitimacy as contenders heading into the weekend series. For now, though, we sit back and enjoy the Mets' tying a club record for consecutive wins, and setting the record for most wins on a homestand, and hope the train just keeps on rolling.

SB Nation GameThreads

*Amazin' Avenue GameThread

*Talking Chop GameThread

Win Probability Added

(What's this?)

Big winners: Daniel Murphy, +15.2% WPA, Curtis Granderson, +15.0% WPA, Lucas Duda, 14.2% WPA
Big losers: Wilmer Flores, -7.8% WPA, Anthony Recker, 7.2% WPA, Juan Lagares, -6.5% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Daniel Murphy's double in the second, +19.7% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Daniel  Murphy's strikeout in the fifth, -10.0% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +11.1% WPA
Total batter WPA: +38.9% WPA
GWRBI!:Eric Campbell