Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves Crushed 10-3 by Mets In Final Meeting at Turner Field

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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After an extra inning win Saturday night the Atlanta Braves were crushed by Mets In their final meeting ever at Turner Field.

Fifteen years after the 9/11 attack the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets got together for their final meeting at Turner Field.

The moving pregame ceremony was the highlight of the day for Braves fans as Mets hitters feasted on awful Braves pitching.

Trouble Early and Often

The Mets onslaught started quietly with a one out triple by Asdrubal Cabrera off the glove on Nick Markakis. Yoenis Cespedes drove Cabrera in with an infield out and Braves starter Perez got out of the inning without further damage.

In the home half Ender Inciarte got the Braves first hit but was out trying to steal as Adonis Garcia struck out.

Lugo walked Freddie Freeman extending his on base streak but he was stranded there when the inning ended.

The second passed without incident but the third was a disaster for the Braves. As usual this year it started with a walk, this time a one out pass to the Mets pitcher Seth Lugo.

Jose Reyes and Cabrera followed with single to load the bases for Cespedes who hit Perez’ third pitch deep into the left field seats to put the Mets up 5-0

Perez retired Curtis Granderson for the second out but left the game with an injury. Joel De La Cruz entered and quickly got the final out of the inning. His day went downhill after that.

Sep 7, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; New York Mets first baseman James Loney hits a single Cincinnati Reds during the sixth inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Fourth and Long Ball

James Loney hit a one out, fence scraper homer to right, putting the Mets up six zip.  Rene Rivera singled sharply to center but De La Cruz coaxed what should have been a double play ball out of Lugo. Instead of throwing to second however De La Cruz threw to first but got out of the inning without further damage when Reyes Struck out.

The Braves made some noise in the home half as Adonis Garcia led off with a line drive double to left. Freeman followed with a single to center scoring Garcia, Matt Kemp lined a single to left and a Markakis single loaded the bases with no one out.

The Braves had Lugo on the ropes but the Braves couldn’t land a jab much less knock him out.  Anthony Recker popped up on the infield to Loney for the first out and Dansby Swanson grounded into a double play to end the inning.

The Mets resumed the punishment in the fifth when Cabrera led off with a single. Cespedes walked signaling the end of the day for De La Cruz  when manager Brian Snitker brought in lefty Jed Bradley.

Bradley was good as a starter in the minors but awful  as a reliever and that trend continued with this outing.

Granderson hit a ground ball to Freeman who managed to for Cespedes at second for the first out but Granderson beat the throw back to first. Kelly Johnson singled sharply past Freeman scoring Cabrera and sending Granderson to third.

Alejandro De Aza repeated that formula with a single that scored Granderson and moving Johnson to third.  Loney continued to expose Markakis doubling over his head, and driving in Johnson and moving De Aza to third.

The Braves intentionally walked Rivera to load the bases and get to the pitcher but Lugo foiled that plan lifting a sacrifice fly to right scoring De Aza.

When the dust settled the Mets were up 10-2 and the game effectively over.

Jun 24, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves third baseman Brandon Snyder (19) hits a three-run home run as New York Mets catcher Travis d

The Final three

Bradley pitched a 1-2-3 sixth and seventh and in the home seventh Brandon Snyder hit a two out homer to left.  Snyder has eight hits this season and all are of the extra base variety; four doubles, a triple and three homers.

Brandon Cunniff struck out the Mets in order in the eighth and the home-half opened with singles by Jace Peterson and Inciarte. An infield popup by Garcia and an inning ending double play by Blake Lalli ended the threat without damage.

After a quiet top of the ninth Kemp led off the bottom half with a double and went to third on a very wild pitch by Mets reliever Logan Verrett.  The inning picked up a little energy Markakis grounded out to Loney scoring Kemp and Recker walked.

Daniel Castro singled to center and Gordon Beckham singled to right to load the bases and end Verrett’s day in favor of Josh Edgin. Peterson hit a screamer down the first base line but a great play from Loney turned it into a double play that ended the game.

Sep 1, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Matt Kemp (27) hits a two RBI single in the fifth inning of their game against the San Diego Padres at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

The Good and Not So Good

The high points of the day came in the form of Freeman, Garcia, Kemp and Inciarte staying hot.  Bradley’s final two innings were good and Cunniff pitched a nice eighth and ninth though it’s hard to know if they were that good or the Mets were just tired.

The flip side of that was the awful outings of Perez and De La Cruz. Perez’s shoulder injury took his ability to maintain velocity away and his location wasn’t good allowing Mets hitters to square him up and do damage before the offense could get going.

The Cespedes slam was the seventh allowed by Braves pitching this year and ties them with the Reds for the most in the Majors the year.

The injury report on him indicates that his shoulder is still not right, something that’s pretty easy to see and diagnose without an x-ray.

This year’s offense with the bases loaded is the worst in baseball. The Peterson at bat was the 132nd Braves plate appearance this year and 23 for 118 and a line of .194/.212/.262/.474. That’s the worst in MLB by a pretty large margin.

Jul 16, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Mike Foltynewicz (26) throws a pitch against the Colorado Rockies in the fourth inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

That’s a Wrap

This was a rough game to watch but we have outings from Mike Foltynewicz, Julio Teheran and Matt Wisler to look forward to. I suspect this is the last time we see Perez this year but De La Cruz will likely get at least one more before we get Tyrell Jenkins back after the minor league playoffs have ended.

Perez hasn’t had surgery however at his best he is a fifth or sixth starter and the shoulder issue has taken his velocity and ability to locate reducing his effectiveness. His best option is to stop pitching and hope the shoulder recovers during the off-season.

Bradley should never be used in relief, unless he starts an inning clean. His best use has been shown to be as a starter. Some pitchers can move back and forth between starting and relieving but some – particularly young – starters can’t. I have no idea whether Bradley will be a major league starter but using him in relief is failed strategy.

The offense will come around a bit but Freddie is going to go be a new daddy soon and we’ll see some combination of Lalli, Snyder and Markakis fill in when he does. Nevertheless I think we’ll win at least eight more games stay below the 100 loss line this year. Somehow that’s not reassuring,

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