Coming off an injury scare in his last start, Steven Matz squared off against the Braves again, this time looking to snap a very frustrating four game losing streak against last-place Atlanta. Opposing him was Aaron Blair, the third piece in the Shelby Miller trade, who has gotten absolutely rocked (ERA over seven, FIP of almost six) so far in his rookie season. Yoenis Cespedes also returned to the lineup after missing a few days with a sore left wrist.
Matz started off the game with four extremely strong innings. He didn’t strike anyone out, but allowed only one hit and at one point set down ten straight Braves. After a couple of rough outings following a dominant early season run, it appeared that Matz had righted the ship and returned to generating top of the rotation results.
Offensively, the Mets had a field day, starting in the second. Neil Walker singled and James Loney was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second with no one out. Wilmer Flores then launched a ground-rule double to left field to score walker and give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Blair would bounce back to strike out Michael Conforto, but a Travis d’Arnaud ground out would push a second run in for the Mets and stretch the lead to two runs.
Walker and Loney got things started again in the fourth inning, this time with a single and double to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Flores hit a weak chopper to third that Walker couldn’t score on with the infield in before the Braves elected to walk Conforto to load the bases for d’Arnaud. d’Arnaud made them pay, lining his first hit of the season to right field for an two RBI single. Matz followed with a sacrifice fly to score Conforto from third, giving the Mets a five-run lead.
In the fifth, the Mets did even more damage against Blair. Asdrubal Cabrera walked to lead off the inning, followed two batters later by another single from Walker. Loney then blasted a long three-run homer to put the Mets up 8-0. Blair would be lifted one batter later after a walk to Flores, ending his night after 4.1 inning pitched and eight runs allowed, raising his ERA to 7.99 on the season.
The game appeared to be over, with Matz cruising and the Mets up by eight, but nothing has come easy this season and this game would be no season. With some help from a fly ball that Cespedes never saw in center, the Braves sent nine batters to the plate, had eight hits (including a homer and three doubles), and scored six runs. Matz, who seemed to be in line for an easy win, was finally, mercifully removed by Terry Collins, ending his night with six runs allowed in 4.1 innings. Despite this start and his earlier blow up against the Marlins, Matz still has a 3.29 ERA and a 2.90 FIP on the season.
Hansel Robles relieved Matz and again was brilliant in an emergency long appearance. Robles pitched 2.2 innings, setting down all eight Braves he faced, striking out two. After a bit of a rough stretch, Robles has now lowered his ERA back below three, sitting at 2.97. His FIP is a fair bit less impressive at 3.98 thanks to a high walk rate, but there’s no denying how important he’s been to the Mets over the past week.
The Met offense was quiet through the sixth, seventh, and eighth, so it fell to the Met bullpen to make the 8-6 lead stand up. Antonio Bastardo replaced Robles in the bottom of the eighth and got the first two outs before allowing a double to Nick Markakis. Terry Collins wasted no time calling on Jeurys Familia for the four out save. Familia entered the game with 24 consecutive converted saves to start the season, tied for a Met record with Armando Benitez.
Familia threw one pitch to escape the eighth, inducing a ground ball from Adonis Garcia to strand Markakis at second. The Met offense was quiet in the ninth, promptly bringing Familia back out for the ninth. Familia, fitting with the theme of the game, would not make it easy on himself. He hit Erik Aybar and allowed a single to Tyler Flowers to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Thankfully, Chase d’Arnaud laid down a horrible bunt that allowed the Mets to erase the two lead runners and leave a runner on first with two outs.
But even then, things wouldn’t be easy. Familia struck out Jace Peterson on a ball in the dirt, but d’Arnaud made a horrible throw to first. Loney came up big again, however, making a ‘miraculous’ pick to retire Peterson. The Braves challenged, but the call was thankfully confirmed and the Mets escaped with a 8-6 victory. Familia also now stands alone in the Met record books with a streak of 25 consecutive converted saves to start a season.
Photo credit: Jason Getz – USA Today Sports