Mets Game 14: Loss to Braves

Braves 4 Mets 2

“Six in a row to make it go” is an old gear head / car enthusiast term referring to an inline six-cylinder engine. Perhaps it is also Terry Collins’ new mantra for getting his team going — six losses to get them moving toward a win? Or something. I’m trying here.

Mets Game Notes

It wasn’t really that terrible a ballgame by the Mets, who played sharp defense and made few mistakes. Manager Collins might point out that if not for four swings of the bat by the Braves, the Mets would’ve won.

Unfortunately, those four swats resulted in four solo homers — three off starter and loser D.J. Carrasco and the fourth against Pat Misch. Carrasco fell an inning and a third short of the 5-inning outing that Collins and Dan Warthen had hoped for, though the Mets required “only” three relievers to finish up the contest. I say “only” because there were times in the past two years that Jerry Manuel required three relievers to get through one inning.

I’m not terribly impressed with Carrasco’s mix of arm angles. Whenever he drops down, he either throws a ball far wide of the strike zone or a meatball.

Ike Davis’ constant whining about called strikes is starting to come back to haunt him; he was rung up on a strike three call by home plate umpire Marty Foster in the sixth that was a few inches off the plate and down. Ike’s demonstrative complaint afterward surely did not earn him any points with Foster nor his brethren in blue.

Great fundamental displayed by Jose Reyes in the third inning on a steal attempt by Nate McLouth. McLouth slid in safely by a few feet as Reyes applied the tag. When McLouth popped up, his foot slid off the base and Reyes kept the tag affixed to his foot, and as a result McLouth was called out. A super example for the kids: keep that tag applied! Too often I see an infielder make the tag and then immediately pull it off, as if to show the umpire the ball is still in the glove — that’s generally useless.

Pat Misch went up and in to make Freddie Freeman “move his feet”. On the next pitch Freeman redirected the ball about 390 feet into the right field stands. Oh well.

Mets hitters were 1-for-6 with RISP.

Next Mets Game

The Mets and Braves play again very shortly. Mike Pelfrey pitches against Jair Jurrjens, who is making his first start of the year.