5/26 Game Recap: Mets Rally in 8th, Beat Braves 4-2

Tonight at Citi Field, the Mets beat the Braves 4-2 to avoid a sweep.

The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a solo shot off the bat of Lucas Duda that dropped into the seats down the right field line.  With Shaun Marcum pitching brilliantly, that lead held up until the top of the seventh.  It was then, that things fell apart.

May 26, 2013; Flushing, NY,USA; New York Mets first baseman

(29) heads to first base on his infield single during the fourth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

To open the inning, Marcum got Justin Upton to hit what appeared to be a routine ground out to shortstop.  However, Ruben Tejada‘s failure to charge the ball led to Upton beating the throw by half a step.  Marcum then struck out Freddie Freeman while Upton stole second base.  Replays showed that Freeman interfered with John Buck (who had to alter his throwing motion).  Interference easily could’ve been called, but wasn’t.  Dan Uggla then came to the plate and clobbered a hanger into the seats in left to give the Braves a 2-1 lead.

The Mets fought back in the eighth against Braves reliever Cory Gearrin.  After Justin Turner led off the inning with a single up the middle, Lucas Duda hit a soft liner down the left field line that skipped into the stands for a ground rule double.  John Buck followed with an RBI single to left to tie things at 2.  Mike Baxter was then hit with a pitch to load the bases.  That brought up the much maligned Ike Davis.  On a 1-1 pitch, Davis lined a single through the hole between first and second to drive in two runs and give the Mets a 4-2 lead.  The RBI’s were Davis’ first since May 9th, and turned out to be the game deciding runs.

Highlights:

• Shaun Marcum was tremendous tonight.  He allowed 2 runs in 7 innings while walking none and striking out a career high 12.

• Lucas Duda hit a solo homer in the 4th.  For the night, he went 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored.

• Ike Davis reached base 3 times.  He singled twice and drew a walk.

• Bobby Parnell pitched a perfect 9th to earn the save.

Thoughts:

This was a much needed win for the Mets, and a much needed night for Ike Davis.  A loss would’ve meant a series sweep and nine straight home losses.  It was great to see the Mets fight back, and it was tremendous to see Davis show signs of life tonight.  It’s been written everywhere (including here numerous times) that Davis should’ve already been sent down to AAA Las Vegas.  The way he looked at the plate recently, it didn’t seem that there was any chance he would break out of his malaise here.  Hopefully, tonight is the start of Ike proving pretty much everyone wrong.

Bobby Parnell was dominant in the ninth.  He blew away Jason Heyward with a 94 MPH fastball, got Justin Upton to ground out softly, and then struck out Freddie Freeman with 97 MPH heat to end the game.

Next Up:

The Mets take on the Yankees at Citi Field tomorrow night at 7:10.  Jonathon Niese gets the start for New York.

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