Final Score: Braves 9, Mets 2—Almost over

Chris Flexen was cruising until it all fell apart on him in the Mets’ 9-2 loss. With the Braves already leading 1-0, the downward spiral started with a hit by Atlanta starter Lucas Sims in the sixth. After back-to-back walks to load the bases, Flexen’s day was over. Josh Smoker managed to get Freddie Freeman out on an infield popup, but Nick Markakis’s double brought home two runs and later a sacrifice fly made the score 4-0.

The bullpen did not fair much better. The Braves later tacked on a run against Erik Goeddel, Kevin McGowan got hit hard to the tune of three runs, and Jacob Rhame also gave up a run in his appearance.

As for the Met offense, the unconventional lineup that featured Phillip Evans in the cleanup spot had trouble generating rallies against Sims. The few times they had baserunners they ran themselves out of the inning. First, Jose Reyes got thrown out trying to steal third, then it was Juan Lagares’s turn to get thrown out when he attempted to swipe second base.

Once Sims departed the game, Tomas Nido finally put the Mets on the board with a booming double to bring home two runs, but the deficit was just too large to overcome.

Full recap to follow.

GameThread Roll Call

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; her effort in the GameThread embiggens us all.

1. MetsFan4Decades: 80
2. AnneInFlushing: 29
3. JR and the Off-Balance Shots: 27
4. OuttaHereOuttaHere: 23
5. NateW: 18
6. Knurk: 17
7. Kepler: 15
8. LaRomaBella: 11
9. Kirk Diggler: 9
10. pegleg52: 7