ATLANTA– This may mark the end for the 2010 New York Mets. The game that proved they aren’t worthy of playing October baseball.
With the game they played tonight in Atlanta, the Mets have completed two-thirds of their schedule and they are a .500 ballclub.
Tonight’s loss to the Braves was disgraceful. For a team who still has visions of possibly making a run at the division, they played themselves out of the discussion.
Errors aside for the moment, Mike Pelfrey was on the mound with his own problems. In the opening inning, he did induce a double play after allowing a leadoff single, but he still couldn’t put the inning to bed. He allowed two successive hits to produce the first run of the game.
Recently, the Mets have been responding with runs in the following half-inning virtually every time. They tied the game at 1-1 in the second on a Luis Castillo RBI single, scoring Josh Thole, who singled.
Pelfrey gave up two more hits in the second, but was helped out by picking Rick Ankiel off at first base.
The Mets took a lead in the third. Jose Reyes lead off with a double and scored on a groundout later on, making it 2-1.
Pelfrey, as he has been doing lately, gave the lead right back. After retiring the first two batters in the third, he allowed back-to-back home runs to Chipper Jones and Brian McCann.
The Mets had a shot to tie the game in the fifth. With a runner at second and one out, Reyes and Angel Pagan recorded outs to strand the runner. From that point on, it was all downhill.
The Mets began playing really sloppy ball in the fifth. Braves reliever Mike Dunn, who replaced starter Kris Medlen due to injury, reached to lead off on a Reyes throwing error.
After two outs were recorded, Pelfrey walked a batter and allowed a run-scoring double. With two runners in scoring position, Pelfrey intentionally walked Eric Hinske and hit Matt Diaz with the bases loaded, giving the Braves a 5-2 lead.
He pitched 4.2 innings, and allowed five runs (three earned) on eight hits, he walked two (one intentional) and struck out one. He also hit a batter and allowed two home runs.
In the sixth, Hisanori Takahashi had some bad luck. The Mets made three infield errors (Reyes, Davis, and Wright). With the bases loaded and one out, Wright threw a ball away attempting a double play, allowing two runs to score.
The Braves extended their lead to 7-2, and went on to win the game, 8-3.
The Mets made four errors, two by Reyes, and fell in the rubber game. The Mets are 0-6 this season in road rubber games, dropping to an even 54-54 on the season.
This game basically ends all hope for the Mets this season, dropping them 7.5 games out of first place with 54 to play.
They will take tomorrow off, before starting a three-game series in Philadelphia on Friday with Jon Niese on the mound against Joe Blanton.
NL East standings
Atlanta 61-46
Philadelphia 58-48 (2 1/2)
NY Mets 54-54 (7 1/2)
Florida 53-53 (7 1/2)
NL Wild Card (Leader and Mets)
San Francisco 62-46
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NY Mets 54-54 (8)
Next series probable pitchers:
August 6
New York: Jon Niese (2010: 7-5, 3.78 ERA) vs. Philadelphia: Joe Blanton (2010: 4-6, 5.86 ERA)
August 7
New York: Johan Santana (2010: 8-6, 3.20 ERA) vs. Philadelphia: Cole Hamels (2010: 7-7, 3.56 ERA)
August 8
New York: R.A. Dickey (2010: 7-4, 2.36 ERA) vs. Philadelphia: Roy Halladay (2010: 13-8, 2.17 ERA)
Upcoming schedule:
New York Mets:
August 6-8 @ Philadelphia Phillies
August 10-12 vs. Colorado Rockies
Philadelphia Phillies:
August 5 @ Florida Marlins
August 6-8 vs. New York Mets
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