The Mets lost a tightly-contested game against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night, falling 3-2, despite the bullpen coming up big.
Here are the takeaways...
- For the second straight night, the Mets were able to get out of the first inning without allowing a run against the Braves, the highest scoring offense in the first this season. Tylor Megill allowed a leadoff single to Ronald Acuna Jr. who then reached second with a stolen base, but Megill struck out the lefty Matt Olson with two outs to end the inning.
- After allowing the leadoff man on again in the second inning – a Marcell Ozuna single – Megill wasn’t so lucky, immediately giving up a two-run shot to Eddie Rosario that put Atlanta in front, 2-0. Two more runners reached base after the home run, but Megill would get out of the inning with no further damage.
The big right-hander had traffic on the basepaths in the third and fourth innings, but each time Megill was able to squirm his way out of trouble without allowing a run, despite four wild pitches on the night.
- In the fifth inning, Ozuna had his third hit of the game – a solo shot to left field after he hit two against New York on Monday night. Rosario followed with a single and after Travis d’Arnaud flew out, Megill walked Orlando Arcia to put an end to his night.
Megill’s final line: 4.2 IP, eight hits (two home runs), three earned runs, two walks, five strikeouts and four wild pitches on 95 pitches (62 strikes).
- Adam Kolarek replaced Megill and got the final out of the fifth and kept the Mets within striking distance.
- However, Braves starter Bryce Elder kept New York’s offense off balance all night. Jeff McNeil singled in the first inning, but after that the right-hander settled in nicely. His only real problem to deal with came in the fourth inning when he lost control of his pitches and walked two in the inning and hit Pete Alonso (which drew cheers from the home crowd). With the bases loaded and one out, DJ Stewart struck out before Francisco Alvarez lined out to end the inning.
- In the sixth, Elder allowed a leadoff double to Francisco Lindor but then made a great play on McNeil’s tapper and threw him out by half a stride before exiting the game after 90 pitches and Alonso due up. Right-hander Pierce Johnson came in and struck out Alonso, but forced to stay in against Daniel Vogelbach, Johnson allowed a two-run shot to the lefty-swinger that put the Mets on the board and got them to within a run.
- Kolarek stayed in the game for the bottom of the sixth, with his team now down just a run, and the side-arming lefty pitching in just his second game for New York retired the top of the order (including two right-handed hitters in Acuna Jr. and Austin Riley) in order. He came out for the seventh inning and struck out Olson, walked Ozuna and made a similar play as Elder earlier in the game on a bunt attempt by Rosario.
In two innings of work, Kolarek allowed no hits, a walk and struck out two.
- The Mets had chances to tie or take the lead in the eighth and ninth innings, but Alonso popped out with a runner at second base in the eighth and Alvarez grounded into a double play with runners on first and second and nobody out in the ninth. Rafael Ortega grounded out to end the game.