Braves 2 Mets 1

Tom Glavine pitched a good game, but it wasn’t good enough to beat John Smoltz.

Smoltz had his typical unbelievable performance against the Mets, and received a boatload of magnificent support from his defense.

The Mets’ best chance to score against Smoltz came in the top of the third, when they loaded the bases with two out for David Wright. Wright made a check swing with two strikes that the first base umpire ruled was a swing to end the threat. Replays from every angle showed that Wright had checked the swing, and that the pitch was outside and low, but unfortunately the replays mean nothing. Their only other threat came the very next inning, again with two outs, when Paul LoDuca was standing on third and Ruben Gotay at bat. Gotay slashed a wicked grounder that appeared to be destined for right field, but Kelly Johnson made a fantastic diving play to stop the ball and throw Gotay out at first to end the inning.

Oh, and then there was the ninth, when the Mets got the first two runners on, moved them to second and third on a Gotay sacrifice, but only managed one lousy run on a putrid check swing grounder by pinch-hitter Julio Franco. Jose Reyes followed with a just-as-putrid infield popup to end any possibility of a tie, stranding pinch-runner Carlos Gomez at third base.

Meantime, Glavine gave up two runs — one on a sac fly in the first and the other on a solo homer by Matt Diaz leading off the second. He finished up completing six innings, allowing five hits, two walks, and two runs, striking out two, on 110 pitches. Any other night, that output probably results in a win.

Notes

Glavine is now 3-10 career against the Braves.

Aaron Heilman retired the Braves 1-2-3 on five pitches in the eighth.

John Smoltz, behind his slippery slider, won his 200th freakin’ game.

Carlos Beltran was 2-for-3 with a walk. Yippee!

Ruben Gotay must have bumped into Willie Randolph on his way into the clubhouse and introduced himself, because Randolph started him at second base. Gotay played flawlessly in the field, dropped the key bunt in the ninth, stroked a line drive base hit in the seventh, and should have had a second hit and RBI in the fourth but was robbed by Johnson. For someone who should have been rusty, he swung the bat a-ight.

Next Game

The Mets continue south to play the Marlins on Friday night. Jason Vargas is listed as starting against Sergio Mitre, but word is that Orlando Hernandez is ready to come back and take his turn instead. Game time is 7:05 PM.

Mets 3 Braves 0

Willie Randolph was not happy with the productivity of his lineup, so he shook things up.

With Shawn Green in the two hole, David Wright batting cleanup, Paul LoDuca behind him in the fifth spot, Carlos Delgado dropped to sixth, and Carlos Gomez batting eighth, the Mets managed to score three runs in the first five innings.

But that wasn’t the only unusual move by Willie. Normally a slave to the 100-pitch count, Randolph allowed Oliver Perez to start the seventh inning, despite having thrown 107 pitches through the initial six. Ollie rewarded the decision by pitching a scoreless seventh, expending 15 pitches in the process. His outing finished up like this: 7 innings, 4 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, 122 pitches, 81 for strikes.

His stellar pitching was supported by a Mets offense that got back to the basics: taking pitches, getting on base, and executing fundamental situational hitting (placing bunts, hitting behind the runner, etc.). The first run was manufactured in the third inning by a Jose Reyes walk, single by Green, and a double steal that resulted in Reyes scoring when the throw to second base by Atlanta catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia bounced off second baseman Martin Prado’s leg. In the fourth, Paul LoDuca, Carlos Delgado, and Damion Easley hit consecutive singles to load the bases, and Carlos Gomez popped a sacrifice fly to score Loduca. The Mets scored their third and final run in the fifth when D-Wright went down and fished out a pitch on the outside of the plate, below his knees, and drove it over the 380 mark in leftfield.

After Perez pitched his seven stellar innings, Mighty Joe Smith came on to pitch a perfect eighth, striking out Edgar Renteria and Chipper Jones swinging and inducing a groundout from Jeff Francoeur.

Billy Wagner finished things up by striking out two for this 11th save in 11 tries. Remarkable that Bobby Cox allowed Chris Woodward to face Wagner as the last out in the game.

Notes

Paul LoDuca remains red-hot, stroking an opposite-field single and pulling a double down the leftfield line.

The drop in the lineup did some good for Carlos Delgado, as he had two hits — one to left-center and the other to left. It was absolutely baffling to see the Braves infielders all lined up to the right of second base when Delgado came up, yet also see the pitcher continously pound the outside part of the plate. Kind of counterintuitive, dontcha think?

You have to like the hustle and raw talent of Carlos Gomez. However, he’s defintely a product of the Dominican adage, “you don’t walk off the island (you hit your way off of it)”. Gomez swings at just about everything he can reach — and he manages to make contact. When and if he learns to be a bit more selective, he’ll be a bonafide superstar. If he doesn’t … well, Vlad Guerrero and Jeff Francoeur have done OK with a similar approach.

Something I’ve noticed about Oliver Perez in his last two starts: when in the windup, he often makes an exaggerated pause at the top of his leg lift, getting his balance and gathering his power, before exploding to the plate. Watch closely and you’ll see what I’m talking about. When he makes the pause, he seems to be in more control of his body, and has a more controlled follow-through. If he doesn’t take the pause, the pitch is rushed, and he ends up flailing out toward third base. I wonder if Rick Peterson has established the top of his leg lift as a checkpoint, and is helping Ollie stay consistent with his mechanics.

Lately, Jose Reyes is being overly aggressive on 1-0 and 1-1 counts, particularly with runners on base. As a result, he’s chasing pitches he should be taking — balls that could be putting him into very favorable 2-0 and 2-1 counts. Instead, he’s digging himself into 1-2 holes and having to take defensive swings. He’ll need to get back to his patient ways with runners on if he’s going to continue driving up the RBI total.

Perez, by the way, touched 95 a few times during the game. That’s gas, and nearly unhittable with his movement.

Next Game

Tom Glavine goes for win #296 while John Smoltz tries for #200. MetsToday reader Sincekindergarten believes that Glavine is too proud and too competitive to allow best friend Smoltzie to win his 200th against him. Let’s hope he’s right. Game time is 7:35 PM.