Game 24: Loss

Braves 8 Mets 5

Oh well, so much for the sweep. At least we got two out of three.

Trax was godawful, doing his best imitation of Victor Zambrano, who was the scheduled starter. Perhaps the problem was that the persnickety Trachsel was supposed to pitch on Monday, following VZam. Or maybe the mound was too dusty. Or the balls were too warm.

Even with Trachsel’s awful outing — one in which he couldn’t get through the fourth inning — Los Metros Nuevos still had a good shot to win the game and sweep the Braves. They fought back to within three with a run in the sixth and a nearly devasting rally in the eighth, and threatened again in the ninth. One thing about the 2006 Mets: they don’t die easily.

In addition to the fight they showed in the last four innings of this loss, the Mets also had a few other positives: three walks by Jose Reyes, a return and homerun by Carlos Beltran, and a 2-for-5 game by Cliff Floyd.

I’ll take two out of three from the Braves for the rest of the year.