All in all, it was a bad day for the Mets. Max Fried and 2 Brave relievers nearly no-hit them as JD Martinez crushed an opposite field 2 out homer in the ninth inning off Raisel Iglesias . That hit broke up both the no-no and the shutout and the Mets did actually get the tying run to the plate in that final frame before Bret Baty flew out to end the game giving the Braves a 4-1 win over the Mets.
Earlier in the game Brandon Nimmo, who has been the Mets best player this season, had to leave the game with a right intercostal irritation. Nimmo talked after the game saying, “We just felt we had to be very careful as we did not want to make it worse by continuing to play. Had this been a late-season game or a playoff contest, I could have finished the game but with so much season left to play caution was the better play here.” You could certainly understand the Mets taking that careful approach and we will know more on Sunday but both Nimmo and the Mets feel this is a day to day issue and not one that could send him to the injured list.
This was a day that Met prospect Christian Scott was slated to toe the rubber for the first time at home in front of the fans here in New York and he pitched OK giving up 3 runs in 6+innings of work. The big blow was a 2 run homer off the bat of Orlando Arcia but other than that, Scott showed a lively 4-seam fastball that struck out 8 Braves–including star Atlanta first basemen Matt Olson 3 times with that high-riding heat.
However, on this day, Max Fried was the story as he had super command of his entire arsenal of pitches but his pitch count got super elevated and he was forced to leave after seven innings even though he had a no-hitter going. The loss put the Mets at 2 games under 500 as the offense continues to struggle lacking the consistency that this team needs. Certainly, the JD Martinez home run is encouraging but if Nimmo is lost for any length of time, that could seriously hurt this offense as he has been an on-base machine in that lead-off spot. I would think Starling Marte would assume that role but a lineup without Nimmo would be hard pressed to score runs which could really be harmful to the Met season.
Overall a day Met fans would like to forget—nearly being no-hit by the Braves, losing Brandon Nimmo and forced to listen to the tomahawk chop of the visiting Braves fans sitting behind the Atlanta dugout. Luis Severino will try to avoid the sweep as these 2 teams battle on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball at Citi on Sunday Night. Game time is 710PM.