It was a pitchers duel at Suntrust Park Saturday night, as the Braves sent out Opening Day starter Julio Teheran opposite deGrom in the third game of this four-game series. Teheran and deGrom pitched like the aces they are, as they both went seven innings, allowed no runs on four hits, and finished with 98 and 97 pitches respectively. While deGrom struck out a dominant 10 Braves hitters on the evening, Teheran struck out a respectable six Mets.

The Braves turned to Sam Freeman in the top of the eighth, who walked Flores and than allowed a bunt single to  to leadoff the inning. The lefty Freeman was kept in to face the left-handed Michael Conforto, who hit a grounder to Johan Camargo at third that looked like a sure double-play ball. Camargo fielded it and threw to Ozzie Albies at second, who dropped the ball on a transfer but held on long enough to get Reyes out at second. Or so we thought, as Callaway challenged the play and the ruling was surprisingly reversed, which set Yoenis Cespedes up with the bases loaded in a tie ballgame.

That would do it for Freeman, as Brian Snitker called upon Shane Carle to face Cespedes and escape the jam. Cespedes looked anxious to make up for his three strikeout evening and hit a short fly ball to right on the first pitch he saw, but it wasn’t deep enough to score Flores. Early season Mets MVP Asdrubal Cabrera stepped up and delivered yet again, hitting an RBI single to right that scored both Flores and Reyes to give the Mets the 2-0 lead. Jay Bruce, who’s been in quite the slump to start the season, hit a sharp line drive to center that scored Conforto and was the only other Mets run on the evening.

With Robert Gsellman unavailable after a multi-inning outing Friday, A.J. Ramos came on in the eighth and promptly walked the leadoff hitter, just like old times. Sticking true to himself, Ramos struck out the next batter, Ender Inciarte, before walking Albies and putting the tying run at the plate. Callaway had seen enough and turned to designated LOOGY Jerry Blevins, who’s actually been the worst Met reliever against LHB to start the season, to face Braves slugger Freddie Freeman. Blevins’ best pitch is his 70 mph curveball, but he threw a 88 mph sinker on the first pitch and Freeman was ready, blasting a double off the wall in left center that scored Ryan Flaherty and Albies and cut the Met lead to one. Blevins was left in to face Nick Markakis, who he struck out, but a wild pitch during the at-bat allowed Freeman to advance over to third. Sensing another blown game from the bullpen, Callaway decided to bring in closer Jeurys Familia for the four-out save, the fourth such instance in the young season. Familia struck out Preston Tucker to end the threat, and the Mets went to the ninth with the 3-2 advantage.

Former top prospect Jesse Biddle came in to pitch the ninth for Atlanta in what was his major league debut. Biddle is a former first round pick and number one prospect of the Phillies, but a myriad of injuries and freak occurrences almost ended his promising career. The lefthander had to have all of the adrenaline flowing and was touching 95 mph in his scoreless ninth. Biddle got Tomas Nido and Reyes to ground out, but walked Conforto, which allowed Cespedes the chance to make up for his 0-4 night. It looked like he had done it, as he hit a moonshot down the left field line that was initially called a home run, but an umpire conference quickly concluded without the use of replay that the ball was foul. It turned out to be a huge difference, as the home run would’ve given the Mets a three-run advantage heading to the bottom of the inning.

The bottom half of the inning began with a leadoff walk issued to Dansby Swanson. In stepped Camargo, who barreled up a 95 mph sinker to right center which scored the tying run while simultaneously giving the Braves the winning run on third with no one out. Braves catcher Carlos Perez was scheduled to hit next, but Snitker decided to pinch hit Kurt Suzuki instead, and he delivered with a sharp liner to Todd Frazier for an infield single. Familia faced another pinch hitter, this time Charlie Culberson, and struck him out for the first out. In stepped the speedy Inciarte, who appeared to be swinging away. Once Familia delivered the pitch, Inciarte showed his intention to bunt, and his perfect drag bunt caught the Mets by surprise, scoring the winning run easily.

Things to keep an eye on

Saturday was another brutal outing for the Mets bullpen, as the extreme early season usage seems to be catching up with them. The team made a move to fortify the bullpen early Saturday, sending Gerson Bautista back down to Double-A Binghamton in favor of Corey Oswalt from Triple-A Las Vegas, but Oswalt sat next to Matt Harvey on the bench in the bullpen.

Yoenis Cespedes struck out three more times Saturday to increase his season total to 37 in 89 plate appearances. Cespedes had the infamous golden sombrero Friday but made up for it with his clutch game winning hit. His K-rate now sits at a horrendous 41.6% for the season and it’s a troubling trend for the seemingly healthy slugger. The Mets need Cespedes to figure it out at the dish, and he has reportedly thought about bringing back his famous golf game in order to fix his swing.

Jay Bruce didn’t look 100% out there either, and his .194/.258/.354 triple slash leaves a lot to be desired. Bruce hasn’t looked great in the outfield and the Mets have two fantastic options on the bench in Brandon Nimmo and Juan Lagares. Bruce recently missed a game due to a flare up of plantar fasciitis, and it would seemingly serve the Mets well to place him on the DL while simultaneously getting Nimmo and Lagares more at-bats.

Fan-favorite (I laughed out loud typing this) Jose Reyes was 0-20 entering Saturday’s game, but went 3-4 and added a stolen base, which almost assuredly secured him three starts next week. Reyes shouldn’t be getting starts ahead of franchise cornerstone Amed Rosario and it’s hard to argue what value he brings to the table. I had the chance to see Phillip Evans and Luis Guillorme live this past week in Las Vegas (scouting notes piece coming this week!) and both bring much more to the table without the personal issues that Reyes possess.

The Mets will send Zach Wheeler (1-1, 2.77) out to face Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz (1-1, 2.53) as they look to split the four-game series.

Photo credit: Adam Hagy – USA Today Sports

Chicago holds a tenuous grip on first place after being swept by Milwaukee over the weekend.

Leading St. Louis by two games and the Brewers by 2.5 in the NL Central, the unsteady Cubs will try to regain their footing in a division that remains very much up for grabs.

When and Where

Game 1: Tuesday @ 8:05 p.m. EST (TV: SNY; RADIO: 710 WOR, ESPN Deportes)

Game 2: Wednesday @ 8:05 p.m. EST (TV: SNY; RADIO: 710 WOR, ESPN Deportes)

Game 3: Thursday @ 8:05 p.m. EST (TV: SNY; RADIO: 710 WOR, ESPN Deportes)

Baseball Weather

Tuesday: Partly cloudy with a slight chance of a rain shower and a low of 62F; Winds between 5-10 mph

Wednesday: Fair with a low of 59F; Winds between 5-10 mph

Thursday: Clear with a low near 60F; Winds between 5-10 mph

Probable Pitching Matchups

Tuesday: RHP Robert Gsellman (6-6, 5.44 ERA, 6.30 DRA, .317 TAv, -0.8 WARP) vs. LHP Jose Quintana (9-11, 4.32 ERA, 4.36 DRA, .256 TAv, 2.2 WARP)

Gsellman has pitched better since his spat with GM Sandy Alderson, earning his first win since June 10 with a rain-shortened six-inning complete game against the Phillies last Wednesday. The 24-year-old has a 2.76 ERA (5 ER in 16.1 IP) over his last three starts.

Meanwhile, the man known as Q has been somewhat inconsistent since switching Windy City alliances in mid-July, but has strung together two quality starts including six scoreless frames in Pittsburgh the last time out.

Wednesday: RHP Matt Harvey (5-4, 5.82 ERA, 5.14 DRA, .296 TAv, 0.4 WARP) vs. LHP Jon Lester (10-7, 4.35 ERA, 3.59 DRA, .263 TAv, 3.6 WARP)

Harvey showed signs of improvement in his second start since returning from the disabled list, limiting Cincinnati to two runs in five innings on Thursday and earning the win. “Overall just starting to feel a little more comfortable out there with mechanics and attacking hitters,” the former ace said following that start. “Obviously still not where I want to be but definitely moving in the right direction.”

Lester had his best performance since July last week in Pittsburgh, hurling six innings of one-run ball en route to his second straight win. The four-time All-Star is 4-1 with a 3.97 ERA in six career starts against the Mets.

Thursday: RHP Seth Lugo (6-4, 4.64 ERA, 5.38 DRA, .283 TAv, 0.2 WARP) vs. LHP Mike Montgomery (5-8, 3.64 ERA, 4.62 DRA, .235 TAv, 1.0 WARP)

Lugo blanked the Reds for six innings Friday in one of his most effective starts all season. He will be limited to 75-80 pitches, per manager Terry Collins.

Montgomery has held opponents to a .233 AVG in 20 innings since returning to the rotation on August 23. He faced the Mets at Citi Field in June, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits over five frames.

Who’s Hot?

Mets 1B Dominic Smith (.353 AVG (6-for-17) during five-game hitting streak)

Mets INF Jose Reyes (1.000 OPS in September with 3 HRs and 9 RBIs)

Mets OF Brandon Nimmo (6-for-15 with two home runs in Reds series)

Mets INF Asdrubal Cabrera (.600 AVG and 1.558 OPS over the past week)

Mets OF Nori Aoki (At least one hit in all eight games with New York)

Cubs INF/OF Ben Zobrist (.364 AVG (8-for-22) since September 3)

Cubs C Rene Rivera (10-for-32 (.313) with 7 RBIs since joining Chicago)

Who’s Not?

Cubs OF Jon Jay (5-for-26 (.192) this month)

Cubs 3B Kris Bryant (2 hits in his last 19 plate appearances with no RBIs)

Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo (.433 OPS with no extra-base hits in his last 7 games)

When We Last Met

The Mets took two of three at Citi Field in mid-June, winning the opener 6-1 behind Jacob deGrom’s complete game. Curtis Granderson and Lucas Duda both homered late in the finale to overcome a poor start by Harvey and secure a series victory which moved New York within four games of .500.

It’s Literally a 10-Day DL

Cubs: RHP Jake Arrieta (right hamstring strain) played catch on Sunday and is expected to return soon. C Willson Contreras (right hamstring strain) returned on Sunday after missing a month, appearing as a pinch-hitter late in the game.

Mets: RHP Noah Syndergaard (torn right lat) saw his simulated game on Sunday cancelled due to soreness. He is now scheduled to throw a bullpen session Tuesday in Chicago.

There’s Always Next Year!

The Mets announced their 2018 schedule on Tuesday, which kicks off on March 29 at Citi Field against St. Louis. Highlights include a three-game home set against the crosstown rival Yankees from June 8-10 and several interleague series with the other AL East clubs. New York will close the regular season at home against Miami.

Notable Quotables

“I’m just trying to get to the point where I’ve been when I’m healthy, 100%.” – Jeurys Familia after taking the loss on Sunday afternoon (0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R/ER, 3 BB)

“Just didn’t have the same command, really, more than anything else. Velocity was OK until the last few hitters and then you could tell he was getting fatigued but again, we’re in a stage of trying to find out some things and we found out that he’s not ready to go back-to-back.” – Collins on Familia’s shaky outing

“He really competes. He did it the first day he was in the big leagues. He started the game and got off to a rough start and you looked up and he got you six good innings, so he’s as good a competitor as I’ve been around and any time he goes out there I know if he gets in trouble he knows how to battle through it.” – Collins on deGrom, who allowed two runs over six innings, striking out 10

“They got us zero runs and one run in two of three games. In one game we had no chance but definitely had chances in the others. We pitched really well and again, you have to pitch better than good pitching to win and they did it… I thought we pitched well. We’re just unable to string together any kind of hits and our power’s been negated a bit… You look around baseball and it happens to every team at some point. It’s contagious to hit as well as it’s contagious to not hit and you just got to keep working your way through it. It’s going to come back to us. We’re going to start hitting again.” – Cubs manager Joe Maddon after getting swept by the Brewers

Photo credit: Dennis Wierzbicki – USA Today Sports

The two hits managed by the Mets in Saturday’s loss to the Nationals were, in fact, one more than the number of wins they’d posted in the last eight games. There’s a post-apocalyptic feeling to this team right now. Fans are resigned to the next offensive drought, the next injury, the next loss.

MEANWHILE, Max Scherzer struck out nine over eight innings Sunday and retired the last 10 Mets he faced. Nationals 6, Mets 3, as the Nationals swept the series.

Fake News

Major League Baseball’s influenza epidemic — which likely started in the Red Sox’s fumigated clubhouse — is spreading. Fans wondering why Mets players are dropping like flies are learning the truth is much worse than expected. Wright, Matz, Lugo, Duda, Flores, Cespedes, Nimmo… nearly a third of the expected Opening Day roster is afflicted by this virulent pathogen. There’s no telling whether the disease is man-made or random mutation, but soon there will be no more ballgames played under floodlights.

Punditry

Nielsen ratings for last night’s contest dropped off dramatically in Mets households after the fourth batter of the game. That was Daniel Murphy, put on earth to proselytize and to punish the Mets for merely tendering him a qualifying offer after a 2015 postseason in which he hit .328/.391/.724 with seven home runs. Murphy hit his third home run of the 2017 season with three runners on base. The salami was preceded by a weak, stick-out-your-arm hit-by-pitch of leadoff pest Adam Eaton, a Trea Turner infield single on which Asdrubal Cabrera appeared to aggravate a lower-body injury, and a solid opposite-field single by Bryce Harper.

You can hardly blame Mets fans for tuning out at that point, when the offense has been AWOL and about to face last year’s Cy Young winner, a heterochromic ace who hadn’t allowed a home run all season. Those who stopped watching missed the game that made Michael Conforto a starter for the rest of his career. Conforto crushed the second pitch he saw from Scherzer over the 335-foot sign in the left-field corner:

Conforto came up again in the third and laced a single up the middle ahead of a Neil Walker home run. In the fifth inning, he pulled a line drive into right, giving him a hit in every direction for the game. Three-for-three in the first five innings is by no means unprecedented, but doing it against Max Scherzer feels significant. Even when Conforto struck out in his last at-bat, he saw seven pitches and fouled off four of them. Conforto also made a couple of fine defensive plays. If there’s a silver lining to this Mets loss, it’s that unnamed sources can no longer suggest Conforto needs more seasoning.

Anyone who tuned out following Murphy’s grand slam also squandered an opportunity to watch Zack Wheeler recover beautifully. After the dinger, Wheeler retired 21 of the next 24 men he faced, striking out six and walking only two. Yeah, I’m pooh-poohing Wheeler giving up Murphy’s blast. Still, it’s fair to say he showed efficiency and endurance by going seven innings and throwing 101 pitches on a night it seemed he’d be done early.

Also appearing on the bright-side list for the Mets: Jeurys Familia threw a perfect top of the ninth. Gamecast says he was throwing 95 mph sinkers, but the movement was so extreme one could speculate those are insanely hard splitters. Without overlooking the domestic violence suspension that caused Familia’s early-season absence, the Mets are a better baseball team with him in the bullpen.

Social Media

I disagree with Daniel Murphy's grand slam-hitting lifestyle.

— Bill Baer (@Baer_Bill) April 24, 2017

GKR-isms

First time I’ve recapped a Sunday Night Baseball game. The difference between the Mets’ three-man booth and ESPN’s bloated production — Buster Olney interviewing managers between innings, Jessica Mendoza’s glorified sideline-reporter-canned-interviews split-screen with live action, extra-long commercial breaks, talking-head video of the announcers aside action on the field as if we need to see them talk while the game is going on — is jarring. As Mets fans we’re used to complaining about the players and the manager. We should never be heard to complain about the best broadcast in the business.

Forecast

A merciful day off. The Mets host the Braves tomorrow night. Get your vacation-day request in for Thursday so you can give Bartolo Colon a standing ovation before his matinee start.

Photo credit: Anthony Gruppuso – USA Today Sports