Game 27 of 162
Braves 4 - Mets 0 (Citi Field, Flushing)
Mets record: 15-12
Mets streak: Lost 1
WP - Max Fried (2-0)
LP - David Peterson (1-3)
Seat on the Korner:
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Max Fried's incredible season continued on Friday, as his five shutout innings against the Mets brought his ERA down to a miniscule 0.45 as the Braves take the first game of a four game wraparound set.
Need to Know
This was a rain shortened game that only lasted five innings. The grounds crew came out as soon as the fifth inning ended and the game became official.
The Mets announced after the game that any fan that holds a ticket to tonight's rain shortened game will receive a voucher for a ticket to another Monday-Thursday game in the regular season (not counting the games against the Yankees on June 13th or 14th.) The digital voucher will be loaded to your "My Mets Tickets" account. Just hit the "Vouchers" tab and it will be accessible tomorrow morning.
David Peterson looked great for four innings, only giving up one hit and one walk while striking out five. But he imploded in the fifth inning, giving up four hits including a run scoring single by Ronald Acuna Jr. and the three run dinger to Olson.
Fried, on the other hand, was very good against the Mets, striking out seven in his five innings or work, giving up three hits and one walk and, most importantly, no runs.
The three hits were harmless singles, but the good news was that they came from Pete Alonso (who recently emerged from an 0-for-19 slump), and from the two young kids: Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez. The bad news, of course, came from everyone else.
Turning Point
In that fifth inning, Peterson had gotten the first out, but then gave up a single to Eddie Rosario, and a double to Kevin Pillar to put runners on second and third with one out and Michael Harris at the plate. Peterson hung tough on a nine pitch at-bat and was rewarded as Harris hit into a 5-2 fielders choice for the second out. Peterson gave himself a chance to get out of the inning, but couldn't capitalize on it against Acuna Jr.
Olson's three run HR came on the next pitch and that was that.
Three Keys
Jim Cerny wrote about how Peterson's start tonight would go a long way in determining whether he stays in the rotation or not when Justin Verlander returns from his injury and Max Scherzer returns from suspension. For four innings, it looked like Peterson was going to make that decision tough. But his problem this season has been wildness, whether it be out of the strike zone (3.2 BB/9 coming in) or in the strike zone (7 HR's in 25 and 2/3's.) Tonight, it was in the strike zone on two consecutive pitches to Acuna and Olson. Olson's homer in particular was on a slider that was middle-middle, and it went a long, long way.
Baty's single was his first hit against a lefty this season. Not a big deal in the realm of the game, but the more hits he gets against good lefties like Fried, the more of a chance he has to take the third base job every day.
The weather forecast is not the best over the next two days either, so it's going to be interesting to see if this series is going to end with a doubleheader on Monday, or whether there are going to be two games pushed back to later in the season. The Braves' only other trip to New York is a three game set from August 11-13. Also keep in mind that the teams share a few common off days, but one that seems to make sense is July 24th. The Mets have a day off between a series in Boston and a series in the Bronx against the Yankees, while the Braves would be coming from Milwaukee and then on their way to Boston.
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