Yesterday was a day the Braves and their fans would like to never forget. Looking for revenge, Spencer Strider took the mound for the first time since his porous outing against the Mets, which led to these comments after the game.
Spencer Strider on his outing versus the Mets: "A lot of weird hits. They seem to be having a lot of luck right now offensively. That’s great. It’s August. (We’ll) see what things are like in October.”
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) August 8, 2022
Strider on why the Mets are so good at grinding out ABs: "I don’t know. It helps when they’re getting calls and 1-1 counts turn to 2-1 counts instead of 1-2 counts, and stuff like that. When your BABIP is .330, .340 as a team, it’s tough to get quick innings and get quick outs.”
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) August 8, 2022
Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long for his rematch, and he delivered in what was essentially a must-win game for the Braves against the Mets, who entered last night up 5.5 games in the NL East.
I wouldn’t say Strider had his best stuff. His control was a little all over the place, which led to a high pitch count, but he only walked one batter, and the Mets didn’t have an answer offensively, totaling just three hits and one run over five innings. Strider’s performance was more than enough because for once against this Mets team, Atlanta’s bats came to life, and they let out some frustration on the division leaders.
The party started in the second, when William Contreras and Eddie Rosario connected for back-to-back home runs. A couple of Acuña doubles would then help stretch the Braves lead to five before they totally blew the game open in the sixth inning, scoring eight runs, which was capped off by this Travis d’Arnaud three-run homer.
Travis d’Arnaud extends the Braves’ lead to TWELVE with a three-run homer!#ForTheA #LGM #Braves #Mets #MLB pic.twitter.com/paJ3eAsE1x
— Baseball Today (@dailymlbtweets) August 16, 2022
By the end of the night, every player in the Braves starting lineup tallied a hit, led by Ronald Acuña and Dansby Swanson, who each had three.
Atlanta would go on to win 13-1 in what was probably their most complete all-around performance of the season. The only bad part is… it only counts as one game. The Braves still trail by 4.5 games in the division with just six weeks left to play. They have to make the most of their matchups remaining with the Mets, especially when Max Scherzer and Jacob DeGrom are not on the mound.
Tuesday’s metting will feature Charlie Morton and Taijuan Walker, who like Strider, will be looking for revenge. The Braves were able to put up an eight spot on Walker in their last meeting, as he was only able to record three outs. However, on the season, Walker has been an incredibly productive pitcher, owning a 3.43 ERA. Atlanta will need to be clicking on all cylinders again if they want to stretch their win streak to eight, which is critical, because Scherzer and DeGrom are waiting for them on Wednesday and Thursday.
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Photo: John Adams/Icon Sportswire
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