2 NY Mets to blame for losing the Braves series, 1 to thank for avoiding the sweep

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This New York Mets series against the Atlanta Braves was one I had circled on my calendar since the day the schedules came out late last season. The Mets and Braves battled throughout all of last season, with the tie being broken in the final game between the two teams.

Mother nature wound up playing a huge role and made this series feel pretty anti-climactic. Friday night's game lasted only five innings, while the other two were postponed. A double-header was played on Monday, but it just didn't feel like it had the same intensity that a normal three-game weekend series between these two bitter rivals would have,

The Braves walked out of New York the victors, taking two of three. The Mets are dealing with a plethora of injuries, particularly in the rotation, so it was good to see them win one. It's good that they avoided the sweep, but it's never good to lose a series to a division rival, and there're definitely people to blame for the unwanted result.

1) NY Mets to blame for the series loss: Buck Showalter

This is not my first time being critical of Buck Showalter and the job he's done as an in-game manager not only for the Mets, but in his entire managerial career. I understand how awesome he is for the clubhouse, but he continues to make decisions I do not understand.

First of all, I have no idea why Denyi Reyes started that game. Reyes has been used as a reliever all season. As a Met, he never went more than two innings and never threw more than 33 pitches in an outing before this game. He went down to Syracuse to get stretched out, but he made one start, lasted 1.2 innings, and threw 36 pitches. He was only going to be used for six or seven outs at most in this game.

Reyes was allowed to face the star-studded top of the Atlanta order to begin the game, and he promptly allows a three-run shot four batters into the game to put the Mets in an immediate hole. Then, after throwing 31 pitches in the first, and after the Mets showed life in the bottom half, Buck allows him to pitch the second and he allows a two-run homer before getting pulled. He recorded three outs in the afternoon. If Buck for some reason HAS to start Reyes couldn't it have come in the second game to save some of the bullpen?

With the Mets down big, the bats came alive and made this a game. The Mets knocked Spencer Strider out of the game and cut the Atlanta lead to 6-5 after six. With all of his relievers well-rested, Buck opts to stick with Jeff Brigham, a guy they brought up from AAA a couple of weeks ago, against the top of the Atlanta order. What do you know, four batters later it's a 9-5 game. The Mets would go on to lose 9-8.

Buck continues to refuse to use any of his high-leverage arms in games the Mets are trailing by one run and I will never understand why. This has been my biggest issue with Buck since the day he took the job. Everyone was rested, but Jeff Brigham has to face the top of that order. It doesn't make any sense to me. A game the Mets were in, ended up being out of reach because of the low-leverage guys being used in high-leverage spots.

2) NY Mets to blame for the series loss: David Peterson

He was sent down for a reason. David Peterson's early-season struggles continued in the opener of this weekend series. After being so good for the Mets last season when the Mets needed him to be, Peterson has looked like the 2021 version of himself so far this season.

I had hoped things would turn around for him and he did get off to a great start in this game. Peterson faced just two batters over the minimum through the first four innings. He had allowed just one hit, a single, and he walked a batter as well. He had five strikeouts and was mowing down one of the best lineups in baseball.

Unfortunately, things unraveled for Peterson as they seem to do often, and he let the game get out of hand in the fifth. Four hits in the inning including a Ronald Acuna Jr. RBI single and a Matt Olson three-run homer put the Mets in a 4-0 hole in an eye blink. When Max Fried is cooling his heels in the other dugout, the starter giving up four runs, especially in one inning, just can't happen.

I understand that the offense didn't show up, and the conditions were awful, and the game was called after five. Peterson needs to avoid the big inning and he did not do that. He absolutely deserves some blame for that loss on Friday.

3) NY Mets player to thank for avoiding the sweep: David Robertson

I thought the Mets would miss Edwin Diaz a whole lot more than they are right about now. Don't get me wrong, there's nobody better in the game than Sugar, but David Robertson has been lights out as his replacement. Ottavino has gotten some saves but don't get it twisted. David Robertson is the guy who has Buck's trust, and deservingly so.

With the Mets needing a win to avoid the sweep, Robertson was called upon for the eighth inning. This made sense, as Atlanta had Olson, Riley, and Murphy due up. This would've likely been a spot Edwin Diaz would find himself in.

With a two-run cushion, Robertson allowed a one-out single to Austin Riley. This sent the red-hot Sean Murphy up to the plate as the tying run. Robertson got him looking on a nasty cutter, and then went on to strike out Eddie Rosario who had a three-run double earlier to end the inning.

The veteran closer was asked to do something he hadn't done all season. Record six outs. I wouldn't have asked him to do that, but Buck did, and Robertson got the job done. After an Ozzie Albies leadoff double, Robertson buckled down and retired the next three hitters in order, two via the strikeout, to secure a Mets victory.

Daniel Vogelbach had an RBI double, Jeff McNeil hit a huge home run to give the Mets insurance, and Francisco Alvarez had the go-ahead two-run double, but I still don't know if the Mets get this done without Robertson. He was, and has been, lights out.

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