The Braves are coming to town -- IGT 6/12/26

[Frayed Knot]

First meeting with Atlanta but not the last. As Gary mentioned during Wednesday's game, the fact that the Mets have yet to face either Atlanta or Philly means that over 27% of their remaining games this season [26 of 94] will be against one of those two.

The Braves, a 76-86 team last season, sit with the best record in the sport this year and an 8 game lead in the NL East. So while we watch NYM bats hit significantly under their back of the baseball card stats, Brave hitters are almost all going in the other direction.

C - Drake Baldwin: 128 OPS+ last year / 163 this season; 1B - Matt Olson: 140 / 153; 2B - Ozzie Albies: 90 / 121; Cf - Michael Harris: 90 / 140

Annnnd they're getting ridiculous contributions from bench players/injury replacements. SS Ha Seong Kim goes down, pick up two 31 y/o career backups in Mauricio Dubon and Jorge Mateo and watch them put up by far the best seasons of their careers: Dubon = 107 OPS+ vs career 85, and Mateo 135 / 77. Or sign on the verge of being out of the game entirely Dom Smith and watch him hit near .300 with his best season since the shortened 2020 campaign, aka: the year he picked up some down ballot MVP votes (finished 13th).

Now they are dealing with some injuries, namely Ronald Acuna was just IL'd with (yet another) hamstring issue, and Both of their catchers: Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy. But their pitchers are all healthy with all the starters pitching above league average and basically half their pen has WHIPs under 1.00

The Braves are on a two game losing streak right now having lost two one-run games to the suddenly resurgent (and 1st Place!!) White Sox before getting rained out on Thursday. Prior to that, of course, they had won 8 of 10 so I don't think this 'slump' will bust them.

 

Friday's opener will be a 7:15 game on Apple+ game (boooo) featuring Spencer Strider [7 starts this year, 4.00 ERA, 1.27 WHIP] vs Nolan McLean.

Then a 4:10 game on Sat (SNY) and 1:40 on Sunday (PIX).

[Centerfield]

So the Braves are over performing and the crash down to mean is going to be cruel and epic. Got it. 

[metirish]

Ugh,  I don't have Apple TV anymore, oh well 

[MFS62]

Well done, FK.

And scary.

Later

[seawolf17]

We're going to either win these three games by the combined score of 28-23, or lose all three like 38-2.

[Frayed Knot]

5 hours ago, MFS62 said:

Well done, FK.

And scary.

But wait (as they say on informercials) there's more ... and it gets worse!

So not only is Atlanta 4th in MLB in BA (.256), 9th in OBA (.323), 3rd in SLG (.428) and 3rd in OPS (751) -- behind only LAD & NYY in both SLG & OPS -- but put duckies on ponds and those numbers jump across the board. This is a concept very unlike the 2025 Mets who had every starter (except Pete) lose 100 or more points off his (or her, we have to be inclusive these days) OPS when runners were involved including a 300 to 500 point loss in the cases of Lindor and Soto until the universe at least started to align itself somewhat in the post-ASB portion of the season. A bit of regression to the mean and all that.

So that .256 Braves BA? .... yeah, that turns into .283 w/men on and .285 if they're RiSP.  The .323 OBA? that becomes .354 & .355.  A .428 slug stat? Not with men on it isn't, try .460/.459. All of which combines for a 706 bases empty OPS, an 814 Runners-on OPS, and an 813 RiSP OPS

I'd like to find out what color the sky is in a world where my team does that sort of thing. 

 

[MFS62]

Yikes!

Later

[Edgy MD]

MJ finding his power stroke and staying in the lineup.

And hey, when did Mike Yastrzemski become a Bravo?

ATLANTA

Starting Pitcher:

Spencer Strider RHP 4-1, 4.00 ERA, 43 SO

Lineup:

1. Mauricio Dubón (R) LF
2. Michael Harris II (L) CF
3. Matt Olson (L) 1B
4. Ozzie Albies (S) 2B
5. Dominic Smith (L) DH
6. Austin Riley (R) 3B
7. Mike Yastrzemski (L) RF
8. Ha-Seong Kim (R) SS
9. Austin Wynns (R) C

METS

Starting Pitcher:

Nolan McLean RHP 3-4, 3.98 ERA, 82 SO

Lineup:

1. Carson Benge (L) RF
2. Bo Bichette (R) SS
3. Juan Soto (L) LF
4. Jared Young (L) 1B
5. A.J. Ewing (L) CF
6. Marcus Semien (R) 2B
7. Brett Baty (L) 3B
8. MJ Melendez (L) DH
9. Luis Torrens (R) C

[MFS62]

Will Hank Fischer from Yonkers be there?

later

[ashie62]

It is supposed to cool off by 8 o'clock or so

No Apple TV here

LGM

[The Hot Corner]

I don't have Apple TV either.  I likely wouldn't watch anyway.  I am basically tired of watching their offensive futility most nights.  I just watch the highlights/lowlights with my coffee the next morning. 

   

[Edgy MD]

As we wait for the weather to clear, enjoy this 2015 highlight reel!

 

[Edgy MD]

Braves plowed down in order in the top of the first.

Fear nothing.  Nolan McLean is on our side.

[Edgy MD]

And apparently, so is Boba Chett!!

[Edgy MD]

Back to back by Bichie and Soto!

Fire Stearns NOW!!!!

[Frayed Knot]

Is it an official game yet?

[Edgy MD]

Mets have switched their homerun celebration prop from a hardhat and reflective vest to a Spider-Man mask, and Howie, right on cue, starts acting like (a) he's barely heard of this thing they call Spider-Man, (b) only kids these days have, and (c) the world is going to Hell in a handbasket.

[Centerfield]

Nolan McLean sucks. 

[Edgy MD]

Hey, I had an errand to run.  I didn't say that the Braves could get a run back while I was gone.

[Edgy MD]

Thank you to Maucio Dubon for getting to a 3-0 count with the bases loaded and swinging at ball four.

That's nutty.

[Frayed Knot]

Talking about long innings with high pitch counts, Howie fails to remember the 45-pitch 1st inning that deGrom had vs Philly. The odd part about it was it became a 45-pitch SCORELESS inning as he left 'em loaded after lots of walks and foul balls. 

deGrom didn't come out for the 2nd

 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI201805130.shtml

 

A breakdown of that inning:

- 7 pitch walk to Cesar Hernandez

- 8 pitch walk to Aaron Altherr

- 9 pitch walk to Odubel Herrera

- 6 pitch K of Rhys Hoskins

- 5 pitch (although 0-2 count) GO by Carlos Santana

- 10 pitch K of Maikel Franco

[Centerfield]

Big moment for Bichette

[Edgy MD]

I remembered that deGrom inning as reaching 50.

Tough to progress with that pitch count in the second inning, but it seems to me that it's tougher to progress by yanking a pitcher after two innings in the first game of a series and ... GRAND SLAM!!!

[Centerfield]

He appears to have come through. 

[Frayed Knot]

Four successful ABs starting with two outs/none on: Melendez 2B, Torrens IF single, Benge HBP, Bichette GS

I'm used to seeing that kind of stuff happen to us but not by us.

[Frayed Knot]

7 minutes ago, Edgy MD said:

I remembered that deGrom inning as reaching 50.

I tacked on the deets of the inning to my previous post.

[Edgy MD]

Thanks for that double-play, Dom Smith.

I love ya', but I'll love ya' more next week when you're hitting against someone else.

[Edgy MD]

This should be the six-run inning.

[Edgy MD]

That's 93 pitches through four.

It beats pulling him after two as it was originally looking like, but that is likely the night for McLean.

[Edgy MD]

Strider throwing meatballs.

Fastballs at 88.  Sliders at 82.