Final Score: Braves 6, Mets 4—Quick Hook

Steven Matz provided the Mets with an impressive start that ended surprisingly briefly. That decision proved costly when the Mets’ best reliever, Seth Lugo, didn’t have it in the seventh inning last night. The Braves poured it on, scoring five runs in the inning en route to a 6-4 victory.

Matz wobbled in the second inning, allowing a single and a walk to start the inning, before Ender Inciarte slashed a double down the left field line to plate a run. That would be the last baserunner Matz would allow, as he got Tyler Flowers to fly to shallow right and Dallas Keuchel to ground out to strand the runners and start a string of 14 straight batters retired.

Keuchel matched Matz’s excellence, holding the Mets scoreless through six. Keuchel induced a couple of key double play grounders to get out of trouble. The Braves went to their bullpen to start the seventh, and with two outs and none on, Matz started a rally with a broken bat single. Amed Rosario followed with a single, taking second on the throw to third base. His baserunning seemed key when J.D. Davis blooped a single to center to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.

Shockingly, after batting in the top of the seventh and with 14 straight retired on only 79 pitches, Matz did not come out for the bottom of the seventh, and the decision was costly. Lugo allowed five runs on five hits and a walk over one-third of an inning—that out recorded on a force out on a ball trapped by Michael Conforto in right field. The Mets rallied for two runs in the ninth, and had the bases loaded with one out, but Wilson Ramos and Michael Conforto struck out to end the game.

Full recap to follow.

GameThread Roll Call

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

1. MetsFan4Decades: 169
2. JR and the Off-Balance Shots: 95
3. MookieTheCat: 95
4. Jets Mets Devils Nets 16: 84
5. The Glider: 81
6. LouMonte7: 73
7. MookiesTheMan: 72
8. stickguy: 53
9. YuretRastin: 53
10. Knurk: 47