IGT 08/26 -- Braves at Mets

[Guest d'Kong76]

[youtube:25hzzeqe]Jfz7gW2Wf3I[/youtube:25hzzeqe]

[Frayed Knot]

Hard to know what to think about the Braves these days.

- They have a 10-12 August going so far, but that involves both an EIGHT game losing streak (began July 29) and a Five game winning streak which included a three-game sweep of Oakland

- They have a positive run differential even though they score fewer runs than the Mets.

- They had a ton of injuries before the season even started, but have been almost entirely intact since opening day. Only Evan Gattis (missed 19 games) among the position players has even hit the DL this season, and only the 5th spot in the rotation hasn't had an every start guy.

- They've got a great bullpen but just break even (21-21) in one-run games.

- They're slowly sinking out of the picture as far as winning the NL East goes, yet they always play well against the Nats (9-4 this season) and sometimes seem like they're the only team capable of beating the Nats these days.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Atlanta at NY Mets
When: 7:10 PM ET, Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Where: Citi Field, New York City, New York
SportsDirect Inc.

The Atlanta Braves look to get back to their winning ways when they open up a three-game series at the New York Mets on Tuesday. After winning seven of eight games to jump squarely into the muddled wild-card picture in the National League, the Braves dropped a pair at Cincinnati over the weekend while falling to 4-3 on their current 10-game road trip. Atlanta managed six runs in their final 34 innings against the Reds, leaving 10 men on base in a 5-3 loss on Sunday.

The Braves sit one-half game behind San Francisco for the second wild-card spot in the NL and seven games ahead of the Mets, who salvaged the finale of a three-game set at the Los Angeles Dodgers with an 11-3 triumph on Sunday. Lucas Duda stayed hot with a pair of home runs, but New York saw third baseman David Wright (neck) and second baseman Daniel Murphy (calf) removed from the game early. Wright, who said he hopes that the injury will not rob him of any playing time, is hitting .215 with no homers in 35 games since the All-Star break.

TV:
7:10 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Atlanta), SNY (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP:
Braves LH Alex Wood (9-9, 3.05 ERA) vs. Mets RH Dillon Gee (4-6, 3.84)

Wood stayed on the right path with seven strong innings in a no-decision at Pittsburgh on Wednesday, allowing two runs and four hits. He is 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA over his last five starts and owns a 2.83 mark in 18 starts on the season. Wood helped the Braves defeat the Mets on June 30, when he let up three runs and struck out seven in six frames.

New York has lost six of Gee's last seven starts, during which he has posted a 5.71 ERA. The rough patch began after a win over Atlanta in which he surrendered a run in seven frames. That outing helped Gee drop his ERA to 2.80 in 13 career starts against the Braves.

WALK-OFFS:
1. Braves LF Justin Upton went 0-for-9 with three strikeouts in the last two games of the Cincinnati series after hitting .413 during a 13-game hitting streak.
2. Duda leads the majors with 12 home runs since the All-Star break.
3. Atlanta RF Jason Heyward is 8-for-24 with a homer and six walks against Gee.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Young, LF
Granderson, RF
Campbell, 3B
Duda, 1B
d'Arnaud, C
Lagares, CF
Flores, 2B
Tejada, SS
Gee, P

[Guest d'Kong76]

Heyward, RF
Bonifacio, CF
Freeman, 1B
Upton, LF
Johnson, 3B
Gattis, C
La Stella, 2B
Simmons, SS
Wood, P

[Edgy MD]

No Wright, no Murphy

[Zvon]

I'm going to make believe that this is some kinda weird new best of 3 playoffs, and that this team don't suck, and that Gee has not been horrendous since the break, and that it's October and the World Series is just 2 wins away.

I wanted Murph to get 2 off but I wouldn't have done it like this. But that's only because I think this is the playoffs.

[Zvon]

Decent first for Gee. One ball hit hard, one soft, both to the place fly balls go to die. And a foul out.

[Zvon]

Mets go uneventfully in the first. Granderson does reach on a HBP. Soupy drills one but it's just a deep out.

[Zvon]

A big 5-4-3 DP makes Gee's inning look deceptively good as he Ks Gattis to end the 2nd.

[Zvon]

So this isn't just a rest day for Murph. His calf is barkin'.

1st and 3rd, 1 out in the 2nd for NY. Tejada up.

[Zvon]

T with a line single to left drives one in. Nice piece of hitting.

1-0 Mets

[Edgy MD]

Lagares had no business catching that ball. No centerfielder does.

[Guest themetfairy]

Gotta love Obi Juan Lagares!

[Zvon]

Dammit. I stepped off for that half. Whoa, just saw the replay. Off the bat that's a no doubt single. No doubt! The guyz have been over gushing with Lags in center but you can't over gush on that one. Robbery!

[Zvon]

fff

[Zvon]

I knew they'd score once fff got on. I hat him.

1-1 Mets

[Zvon]

Whoa, nice. Big hustle from d'. Hadda get a double there and he did. That was one unfortunate bounce in the corner, right to Upton.

[Zvon]

They can't reverse this.

[Zvon]

Uggh, what a senseless delay. Sapped my mojo. Hope it sapped Woods too.

[Guest themetfairy]

Obi Juan Ka Boom!

[Zvon]

LagBOOM!!!!!
3-1 Mets

[Zvon]

I was just about to say Lags will never be a lead off hitter with some of the shit he swings at. That was a pitch to hit though.

[Zvon]

Wow. Great play by Duda. Unassisted DP.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Sparkling defense, now... yet again.

Everything's aligning these days for Yay Radley, innit?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Alex Wood's Jon Niese similarity score: 83-84

[Zvon]

fff gets all his slugging from games vs. the Mets, don't he...

Ha. Lags robs him. Thought collision there for a sec. Steer clear!!! Lags comin thru!

[Edgy MD]

d'Arnaud + Laggy = 4-for-4 this evening.

[Zvon]

So on a make believe night in October, in the first game of a silly 3 game imaginary playoff series, the legend of Lagares and his magnificent post season prowess is born.

And almost another homer.

[Zvon]

3-2 Mets. Gee was pitching with no smoke and dirty mirrors. Familia with a one run lead will bat and pitch 1+.