Game Recap: Chipper’s Last Stand Victorious as Braves Complete Sweep of Mets

Although he didn’t start today and drew a walk in a pinch-hitting appearance, Chipper Jones watched his teammates win an extra inning battle against the Mets, completing the sweep in New York, and earning their fifth straight win. Who was the man behind getting runs on the board? For the second straight day, it was Brian McCann who drove in critical runs to propel Atlanta to victory.

Mets Offensive Highlights:

Trying to avoid the sweep, New York was first to get on the board, which happened in the fourth inning. Daniel Murphy hit his 34th double of the season, and Ike Davis singled him home with two outs. After the Braves took a 2-1 lead, the Amazins were at it again in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Murphy once again doubled in front of David Wright, who copied him with a double of his own, plating the tying run with two outs. The Mets had multiple opportunities late in the game to take the lead or tie it back up in extras, as they had two men on base twice and the lead off man got aboard two other times, but they weren’t able to cash in. As a team, they went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 7 men.

Sep 09, 2012; Flushing, NY,USA; Atlanta Braves celebrate the win against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Braves won 3-2 in ten innings. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

Braves Offensive Highlights:

Chris Young was able to keep Atlanta off the board for a while, but they broke through in the fifth, as Jose Constanza hit a ground rule double, and came around to score on an RBI single by Michael Bourn. In the next inning, Brian McCann hit his 20th homer of the year, giving the Braves a brief lead before the Mets came back to tie it in the bottom of the sixth. The two teams were locked in a 2-2 tie until the top of the tenth, as it was McCann coming through again, this time with a sacrifice fly. Atlanta did even worse than New York with runners in scoring position, stranding 10 and going 1-for-11, but they scored runs when they needed them most.

Pitching Highlights:

Chris Young delivered a quality start in getting the no-decision, as he went 6 innings and gave up 2 runs, 5 hits, 4 walks, and 7 strikeouts. Even though he had high walk and strikeout numbers, he was able to keep his pitch count under 100 in his outing (97 pitches). Josh Edgin threw 1.1 innings of scoreless relief, and Jon Rauch helped him finish the eighth with 0.2 IP. Frank Francisco kept the score tied in the ninth, but Bobby Parnell gave up the go-ahead run in the tenth for his fourth loss of the season.

Tommy Hanson showed a little more control in his outing today, but still threw 70 pitches in 5.2 innings and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 5 hitters. Jonny Venters, Eric O’Flaherty, Craig Kimbrel, and Peter Moylan each gave up a hit in the inning they pitched, but kept the Mets scoreless, with Kimbrel picking up the win and Moylan notching his first save of the year.

The Mets have now lost three straight and fall back to 10 games under .500, currently standing at 65-75.

Probable Pitchers Monday:

The Mets continue their home stand, as they welcome the first-place Nationals to Citi Field to start the week. Davey Johnson will be sending Gio Gonzalez (18-7, 2.98 ERA) to the mound, in search of his 19th win. He will be facing rookie Collin McHugh (0-1, 3.27 ERA), who’s looking to bounce back after a lackluster start against the Cardinals. First pitch in New York is set for 7:10pm.