5:40 PM. It’s a rainy day in New York. I am joining the Mets midway through their first game against the Braves, at Turner Field. Their game started 1.5 hours ago, so if I watch both games of their double header – I’ll be watching the Mets for the same amount of time as I watched them with Jonah on Thursday. Six and a half hours.
Here we go.
Before I begin with live updates, here is some important info about this afternoon’s game.
Mets Lineup: (We will likely have nicknames for all these players within a few weeks.)
- Jose Reyes
- Angel Pagan
- David Wright
- Carlos Beltran
- Ike Davis
- Willie Harris
- Brad Emaus
- Josh Thole
- D.J. Carrasco
Pitching Matchup:
- D.J. Carrasco (4.05 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 4 Ks, 3 BBs)
vs.
- Derek Lowe (1.45 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 15 Ks, 5 BBs)
Other notes:
- Beltran is slated to start both games of the double header. Pleasant surprise.
- According to Mike Puma of The NY Post, Brad Emaus is running on thin ice. He may be cut soon.
- Dillon Gee will start for the Mets tomorrow. That will be hard to watch. Michael Baron of SNY.tv’s Mets Blog thinks that Ryota Igorashi will be demoted to make room. That would be a shame.
- Remember, the Mets are entering this game after being swept in a four game series by the Rockies. They have lost 5 in a row.
- It is Jackie Robinson Day in the MLB. Every player is wearing #42 and no one has names on their uniforms. It just makes it more difficult for people like me to follow the game.
Live Updates
To start the bottom of the 5th, the Mets are down 3-1 to the Braves and D.J. Carrasco has just left the game. He surrendered two solo home runs to Alex Gonzalez. Gonzalez is a Carrasco killer. Pat Misch takes the mound to relieve D.J.
5th Inning
- Misch walks Chipper Jones, but survives the 5th inning unscathed.
6th Inning
- With 2 outs, Willie Harris hits an RBI double to bring in Beltran, who was on first base after a Derek Lowe walk. 3-2 Braves. Emaus promptly pops out to end the inning.
Freddie Freeman (who??) absolutely demolishes a Misch offering. Wow. Solo home run. 4-2 Braves. Classic. Misch finishes his 2nd inning of work and only gives up one run. As a Mets fan, I’ll take that any day.
On a side note, backup catcher David Ross is mic’d up for this game. He said something hilarious and the FOX announcers started cracking up. I wasn’t listening. Sorry, Mr. Ross.
7th Inning
- Eric O’Flaherty (2.08 ERA, 0 Ks, 2 BBs) is now on the mound for the Braves. We’ve already come across some extremely random names. He ousts Josh Thole on his first pitch on a soft dribbler right to Mr. O’Flaherty. Chin-Lung Hu follows and strikes out looking. 2 walks later, O’Flaherty is sent to the dugout. Scott Linebrink (4.76 ERA, 7 Ks, 4 BBs) replaces and gets Wright to pop out to right.
- Bobby Parnell steps to the mound for the Mets. Somehow survives the middle of the Braves’ lineup.
8th Inning
- Jonny Venters (1.29 ERA, 5 Ks, 1 BB) marches in from the bullpen to pitch. He walks Willie Harris, but strikes out Beltran and Emaus to safely glide through the inning.
- Bobby Parnell keeps the Mets deficit at 2 in the bottom of the 8th. The Mets are at bat in the top of the 9th, down 4-2. It’s crunch time for the Mets. Let’s see if they can pull it off.
9th Inning
- Craig Kimbrell (0.00 ERA, 9 Ks, 1 Walk, 3 Saves) comes in to close for the Braves.
Kimbrell strikes Josh Thole out swinging. One out. Daniel Murphy nubs it to the pitcher. Easy play. Two outs. Reyes is at bat and is trying to keep the game alive for the Mets. Full count now. He…singles!! Ground ball barely gets past the Braves’ Second Baseman. The tying run is at the plate. It’s Angel Pagan. David Wright is on deck. Pagan…pops out to center. Game over. Braves win, 4-2
A recap of the game is forthcoming. I don’t plan on live blogging for the 2nd half of the double header.
Sources:
Kim Had Humps 