Mets vs. Braves Recap: Quality starting pitching is a beautiful thing

The Mets continued their run of quality starting pitching and took the series from the Braves on Sunday afternoon in Cobb County, winning 2-1 in the getaway game of the series. Seth Lugo made his first start of the year and, partially torn UCL and all, looked quite good for the Mets.

The Mets got on the board early, with Michael Conforto leading off the game with a double, being bunted to third, and then scoring on a Wilmer Flores sacrifice fly. Conforto had two hits off the left-handed Jaime Garcia, further poking holes in the “he can’t hit lefties” myth.

Lugo pitched well for the Mets, allowing only one run on six hits over seven innings. While walking two and striking out six, Lugo threw strikes and, aside from a Tyler Flowers double in the second, limited the Braves to singles throughout his start.

The Mets scored their second run in the third inning, after Lugo ripped a double to center field and, eventually, scored on a Juan Lagares single.

The aforementioned Flowers double led to the only run of the game for the Braves, after Flowers moved to third on a ground out and then scored on a Dansby Swanson sacrifice fly. Lugo loaded the bases in the fifth, but he escaped the jam from an umpire reviewed double play from Asdrubal Cabrera, Neil Walker, and Flores.

After Lugo left the game, Jerry Blevins and Addison Reed combined for two perfect innings, giving the Mets a nice end to their trip to Cobb County. Over the four-game set, the Mets limited Atlanta to just six runs, with half of them coming in Friday night’s series opener. Matt Harvey, Robert Gsellman, Steven Matz, and Lugo all pitched well and give the Mets some hope that, perhaps, the season’s starting pitching is beginning to look up.

Tonight, the Mets welcome the World Series champion Cubs to Citi Field, where Jacob deGrom will look to turn around his recent skid against the veteran John Lackey.

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Win Probability Added

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What’s WPA?

Big winners: Seth Lugo, +38.5 WPA, Addison Reed, +19.9 WPA, Jerry Blevins, +14.1 WPA
Big losers: Rene Rivera, -13.5% WPA, Asdrubal Cabrera, -11.1% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Juan Lagares singles, scoring Seth Lugo in the third inning
Teh sux0rest play: Asdrubal Cabrera grounds into a double play in the sixth inning,
Total pitcher WPA: +72.4% WPA
Total batter WPA: -22.4% WPA
GWRBI!: Juan Lagares