Mets split doubleheader with Braves

Game 1

Despite having left his previous start with shoulder soreness, Jacob deGrom took his turn in the rotation in the first game of the Mets’ doubleheader against the Braves on regular rest this evening at Citi Field. And he threw five scoreless innings with six strikeouts, two walks, and one hit allowed, and he made a hell of a catch on a hard-hit ball that right back in the direction of his glove.

The Mets scored more than enough runs to support deGrom and the bullpen, too. Jonathan Villar scored on a wild pitch during a first inning that included a bid of a head-scratching attempt to bunt for a hit by Francisco Lindor, which was officially ruled a sacrifice.

The big damage at the plate was done by Dominic Smith, who hit a bases-clearing, three-run double in the bottom of the fifth to extend the Mets’ lead to 4-0. That was important, as deGrom was taken out of the game for a pinch-hitter in that inning, having thrown 70 pitches and with the pitcher and team not wanting to push things too far given his recent string of various types of soreness.

Seth Lugo gave up a two-run home run in the top of the sixth, but Edwin Díaz retired the side in order in the top of the seventh to notch the save and give the Mets the win in the seven-inning game.

Box scores

MLB.com
ESPN

*illar of the game

Jonathan Villar went 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored, while Kevin Pillar merely went 1-for-3. *illar of the game: Villar

Win Probability Added

FanGraphs

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Jacob deGrom +34.6% WPA
Big Mets loser: Francisco Lindor, -8.7% WPA
Mets pitchers: +38.6% WPA
Mets hitters: +11.4% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Dom Smith hits a bases-clearing double in the fifth, +15.8% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Ozzie Albies hits a two-run home run in the sixth, -5.6% WPA

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Game 2

Coming off a win in the first game of the evening, the Mets’ second game was decidely more frustrating. Despite the fact that the team got four scoreless innings from Jerad Eickhoff, who had given up twelve runs over the course of his last two Triple-A starts, the Mets simply couldn’t score and lost a 1-0 game to the Braves in the nightcap.

On top of the fact that the team wasn’t hitting much, the Mets made three outs on the bases, far too many in any game—but especially one in which each team only had 21 outs to work with. The first came when Pete Alonso tried to go from first to third on a Dom Smith single in the second and was thrown out by Ronald Acuña Jr. at third base. The second came when José Peraza tried to take third on a weak ground ball from Francisco Lindor on a 3-1 pitch with one out in the sixth. And the third came immediately after that one when Lindor tried to steal on first movement and was instead easily picked off to end that inning.

Of course, the Mets weren’t completely reliant on those three specific baserunners, but the odds would have been better without having made those outs.

Acuña struck again when he scored the first and only run of the game with a solo home run off Miguel Castro to begin the fifth inning. Castro, Sean Reid-Foley, and Trevor May combined to keep the Braves from scoring again after that, but the lone run proved to be enough for Atlanta, as the Mets loaded the bases in the seventh inning with one out and failed to score when Kevin Pillar smoked a line drive straight into third baseman Austin Riley’s glove and Brandon Drury popped out weakly to end the game.

Box scores

MLB.com
ESPN

*illar of the game

Despite leaving the game with an injury, Jonathan Villar went 1-for-2 with a walk and a double. *illar of the game: Villar

Win Probability Added

FanGraphs

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Jerad Eickhoff, +24.3% WPA
Big Mets loser: Kevin Pillar, -32.9% WPA
Mets pitchers: +15.6% WPA
Mets hitters: -65.6% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: James McCann gets hit by a pitch to load the bases in the seventh, +21.0% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Kevin Pillar lines out to third with the bases loaded in the seventh, -26.3% WPA

SB Nation GameThreads

Amazin’ Avenue
Talking Chop