Mets rally (again) but their comeback falls short this time against Braves
Pete Alonso and Omar Narváez sparked the offense into life in the late innings, but New York was unable to pull off the ultimate Houdini act
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets showed a lot of fight after being down 6-0, but the comeback ultimately fell short in a 6-5 loss to the Braves on Tuesday night (box)
RHP Adrian Houser did not have a good night, allowing five earned runs on eight hits with two walks and just one strikeout
RHP Dedniel Núñez topped out at 98mph in his MLB debut, allowing a run on three hits while striking out three
1B Pete Alonso crushed his third homer of the year with a three-run shot in the eighth inning to give the Mets some hope
The top of the lineup, excluding Alonso, was not good again. Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte and Francisco Lindor went a combined 3-for-15 on the night
The bottom of the lineup was more productive with Harrison Bader going 2-for-4, while Omar Narváez went 2-for-3 with an RBI double
Injury Updates 🏥
DH J.D. Martinez (lower back tightness) will be sidelined for 3-5 days after receiving an injection
Roster Moves 🗞️
RHP Julio Teheran designated for assignment
RHP Dedniel Núñez selected from Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Michael Tonkin traded to Minnesota for cash considerations
Mets stats 🧮
Adrian Houser hit just one pitcher in 2023. He hit two in the first two innings of Tuesday’s game alone
The Mets have allowed 21 stolen bases in over 100 innings so far this season - the most in baseball by a wide margin. They are also the only team that has yet to catch a runner stealing
.206 team batting average (27th in MLB)
.301 on-base percentage (21st in MLB)
.319 slugging percentage (27th in MLB)
33 runs scored (25th in MLB)
3.13 team ERA (6th in MLB)
1.36 WHIP (19th in MLB)
.233 batting average against (11th in MLB)
3.56 ERA among relievers (20th in MLB)
.975 fielding percentage (28th in MLB)
Who’s Hot 🔥
Brett Baty: 9-for-22, RBI over his last five games
Who’s Not 🥶
Francisco Lindor: 3-for-40, 2 RBI, 6 K to start the season
Down on the Farm 🌾
RHP Blade Tidwell (AA): 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K
1B Ryan Clifford (High-A): 1-for-4, 1 RBI
SS Colin Houck (Low-A): 1-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (4-7) @ Braves (7-3)
Where: Truist Park - Atlanta, GA
Starters: LHP José Quintana (0-1, 2.61 ERA) vs. RHP Allan Winans (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
When: 7:20 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Prepare to board the ultimate up-and-down Mets rollercoaster in 2024… ✍️
Not 24 hours removed from providing a thrilling victory in the series opener, the Mets produced a dud against the Braves on Tuesday.
Well, kind of. They did make things very interesting in the last couple of innings.
And, in doing so, this team reminded us all that the 2024 season will be a rollercoaster full of tantalizing highs, swiftly followed by underwhelming lows.
They are going to leave us slack jawed with a mesmerizing display of heroics one night.
Then they are going to deliver a firm punch to the gut with a horror show of ineptitude the next.
That’s just who the Mets are proving to be through the first week or so of the year.
We got a full offering of the good, the bad and the ugly all at once in Tuesday’s game, too.
Things didn’t exactly start off all that hot as Adrian Houser, making his second start of the year, laid an egg on the mound. The righty gave up an RBI double to Ozzie Albies in the first, before allowing six consecutive singles to begin the bottom of the third inning.
It was simple for Houser. All of the contact came on pitches in the middle of the plate. He has to be on the edges and down to be effective. As you can see in the chart below, that didn’t happen for him on Tuesday. As such, he induced just six swings-and-misses on the night and that elite Atlanta offense pounded him:
After getting shelled for five earned runs on eight hits, Houser was pulled and in came the flame-throwing Dedniel Núñez, who showed intoxicating flashes of brilliance despite giving up a run. The right-hander struck out three and topped out at 98 mph, showcasing a lethal arsenal that could really boost the bullpen.
On the offensive side, the lineup didn’t really do all that much for most of the game and they were struggling to string hits together. The top of the lineup really labored again, including Francisco Lindor, who endured another rough night at the plate (1-for-5). Jeff McNeil also couldn’t get anything going (1-for-4), and the game looked like it could become a total blowout.
However, the Braves left plenty of runners on, thus leaving the door open for the Mets to bash their way through for the second consecutive night.
And they so nearly did.
Pete Alonso finally showed signs of breaking out on this road trip with a three-run blast in the eighth - his third homer of the year - before Omar Narváez hit an RBI double and then scored on a Starling Marte ground out to really make things interesting in the ninth.
Ultimately, the comeback fell just short but the fact the Mets showed some fight late should inspire a lot of confidence. We’re starting to see a real identity forge with this team and, although they may not be that good for large swathes of the year, they’re not going to be an easy out.
They also seem determined to twist our emotions into one big messy pretzel night after night. The euphoric highs of Monday were followed up by a sleep-inducing slog on Tuesday, before some late heroics nearly got us waxing poetic about the 2024 Mets’ never-say-die spirit again.
Nearly. Not quite, but A+ for effort. But lets just say when a team falls behind by six runs, their win probably is extremely low.
Anyway, I think it is wise to be prepared to be taken on the longest rollercoaster with a record-amount of twist and turns when following the Mets this year. Both on a night-to-night basis, and even from inning-to-inning.
There will be moments where we will be teased into thinking that something magical could be on the horizon. There will be moments of abject suffering where nothing but pain appears to be on the menu. Then, out of nowhere, something will happen that will make us all believe again that something special could happen this year, before we’re brought back to reality once more.
And on and on it goes.
Basically, be prepared to be thrilled, teased, disappointed and let down a lot all at once by the Mets throughout 2024.
It is going to be a bumpy ride with more enticing ups and deflating downs than we can handle.
As the last two games against the Braves have proven.
Around the League 🚩
OF Colton Cowser (24 years, 20 days) became the youngest Orioles player with two doubles and four RBIs in a game since Cal Ripkin Jr. (23 years, 10 days) in 1983, as Baltimore beat the Red Sox 7-1
Nationals RHP Josiah Gray was placed on the IL with a right elbow / forearm flexor strain
Red Sox INF Trevor Story will undergo surgery on his fractured shoulder on Friday. The recovery period is expected to be in the neighborhood of six months
SS Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, was called up to The Show by the Orioles after hitting .342/.490/.605 in 51 plate appearances at Triple-A Norfolk (ESPN)
RHP Tyler Glasnow struck out 14 and didn’t allow a run on 3 hits as the Dodgers beat the Twins, 6-3
RHP Sonny Gray excelled in his Cardinals debut, not giving up a run on five hits with no walks and five strikeouts as St. Louis beat the Phillies, 3-0
A’s C Shea Langeliers hit three home runs and drove in 4 RBIs as Oakland beat the Rangers, 4-3