http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsThe Mets took the second straight game from the Braves to win the series an open the chance for a sweep tomorrow night on ESPN. It was bring your dog to the park day today and the Braves defense has certainly gone to the dogs. They look completely lost in the field. Today Yunel Escobar added the basepaths to the locations causing problems when he didn’t tag up from third on a fly ball that turned into a double play.
Jon Niese wasn’t great in today’s start but limited the damage to only 1 run over 5.1 IP. The downside of the start was that he gave up 5 hits and 5 walks. But he did strike out 6. It’s not an easy way to make a living giving up that many base runners. He needs to work on throwing strikes, especially with his fastball.
The bullpen saved Niese by throwing 3.2 scoreless innings. Francisco Rodriguez got his third save in three days and that includes his five out save against the Cubs on Thursday.
Another encouraging sign for the Mets is that Jason Bay was the offensive hero of the day going 3 for 4 with an RBI double. He’s 4 for his last 7 at-bats. Maybe he’s starting to come out of the funk he’s been in for the last three weeks.
Ike Davis continues to contribute going 0 for 2 with a walk and a run scored. He has 20 at-bats this season and 5 runs scored. It’s all about scoring runs and Davis is doing it at a tremendous rate.
The Mets only had 5 hits today. What else would you expect against Jair Jurrgens? He destroyed the Mets last year for four wins. But so did everyone else in the league. The true test will be what he does this season.