A sloppy, soggy night at Citi ends in another Mets loss

The Mets started their final homestand of the 2018 season with a 7-3 loss to the Braves. David Wright was officially activated before the game, and despite pleas from the home crowd, he did not see any action in this game.

The game started after a half hour rain delay, and despite the rain continuing to fall, Noah Syndergaard took to the mound. After getting the first two outs, Syndergaard allowed the next to batters to reach base. He eventually escaped the inning but it was a hard-working one for the big right-hander. He needed 24 pitches to complete the first.

The Braves sent young Touki Toussaint to the mound and he too was able to wiggle out of trouble in the first inning. The Mets eventually struck first in the third inning when Michael Conforto drove in Jeff McNeil with a RBI double. Jay Bruce followed with a single to bring home Conforto and the Mets has a 2-0 lead.

As for Syndergaard he seemed to get stronger as the game went along. From the third inning on he was efficient with his pitches and allowed only two baserunners, one of which was erased by a double play. All told he allowed three hits, two walks, and zero runs in six innings of work. He also struck out five while playing in less than ideal conditions for most of the outing.

After the game Mickey Callaway revealed Syndergaard was sick and they were unsure if he was even going to make the start. Syndergaard overall pitched well especially considering he was sick. This was reminiscent of his start against the Yankees where he picked up the win despite having hand, foot, and mouth disease.

Syndergaard was in line for the win in this game as well. The Mets had tacked on a run in the sixth so they had a 3-0 lead. Enter the bullpen. Robert Gsellman was the first one to enter and he only recorded one out before departing. He was let down some by his defense when Austin Jackson dropped a ball in centerfield. He left with the bases loaded and a run already in.

Next up was Drew Smith who threw a wild pitch to bring in the Braves’ second run. That also moved the runners up to second and third. Ronald Acuna Jr. brought them both home to give Atlanta the lead.

Smith did end his outing with back-to-back strikeouts of Ender Inciarte and Freddie Freeman and the Mets were still within striking distance. That all changed when Jerry Blevins entered in the eighth. He too was let down by defense when Todd Frazier made an error on a ground ball, but nobody was getting to the bomb he gave up to Ozzie Albies. That put the Braves ahead 7-3 and Tyler Bashlor had to come in to finish the inning. He put a couple runners on but did not give up any runs.

Unfortunately a four-run deficit was too much for the offense to overcome. Multiple “We want David” chants broke out but both pinch hitting opportunities went to other players.

Overall, this game was symbolic of the season as a whole. Good starting pitching with the bullpen squandering the lead. In the grand scheme of things the loss doesn’t matter but the season has entered the final stretch and all that is left is the chance to say goodbye to David Wright.

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Win Probability Added

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What’s WPA?

Big winners: Noah Syndergaard +32.4%, Michael Conforto +17.6%
Big losers: Drew Smith -31.3%, Robert Gsellman -24.3%, Jerry Blevins -20.9%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Michael Conforto double in third
Teh sux0rest play: Ronald Acuna Jr. RBI single in seventh
Total pitcher WPA: -43.4%
Total batter WPA: -6.6%
GWRBI!: Ronald Acuna Jr.