It’s a 5 game series against the Mets, but not far-fetched to believe that these first two games might be enough to turn Alex Anthopoulos loose.
There’s a long way to go tonight as the first inning comes to a close, but the Atlanta Braves have already started making their case toward getting roster help later this week.
The beginning was a 2-zip victory in Game 1 of Monday’s double-header. Sure, it’s just the first game, but it’s more about who they beat and not just the victory itself.
Marcus Stroman was the Mets starter.. and recognize that in his most recent start before Monday, he went into Cincinnati’s bandbox and one-hit the Reds over 8 full innings while holding them scoreless.
Moreover, in the lineup of starters that the Mets are intending to run out there against Atlanta this week, Stroman is easily the most formidable of the group:
- Game 1: Muller (W) vs. Stroman (L)
- Game 2: Bryse Wilson vs. Mets Bullpen game led by Aaron Loup
- Game 3: Charlie Morton vs. undecided
- Game 4: Max Fried vs. Tylor Megill
- Game 5: Drew Smyly vs. Taijuan Walker
Megill will be pitching on his 26th birthday, but it’s his 7th major league start. Granted, he’s done well (2.10 ERA), but his first two starts both came against Atlanta, and the Braves tagged him for 2 and 3 runs, respectively.
Walker has a respectable 3.43 ERA, but his last two starts have gone badly: 12 total runs, 11 earned. In one case (Pittsburgh), he didn’t get out of the 1st inning. His 1.84 ERA from the end of May is becoming a distant memory.
So that’s why the Monday second game seems to be a critical contest: if the Braves can take this, there’s a great chance of winning at least 4 of the 5 games… and perhaps Alex Anthopoulos might be winning to go ahead and pull the trigger on a couple of deals to get this club some help.
It would be nice to see.
The keys will be these:
- Getting early runs
- Getting into the Mets bullpen early and often
- Avoiding use of the Braves bullpen where possible
UPDATE: Could not get offense going… 1-0 loss with 4 hits for the visitors.
So far… hanging tough: 0-0 going to the bottom of the second inning.