Just like pretty much the entire weekend, Sunday was a day the Braves would like to forget. Jacob DeGrom was perfect through 5.2 innings before he walked Ehire Adrianza, which was then followed up by a two-run homer off the bat of Dansby Swanson. But it still wasn’t enough, as the Mets won the series finale by a score of 5-2 and fell 6.5 games back in the division.
Overall, it was complete domination by New York in what was the biggest series of the season to date. The Braves had no answer for their dominant pitching, and while the Mets didn’t overpower Atlanta’s arms, they were patient, put together fantastic at-bats, and made the most of their opportunities. Sure, there was a lot of soft contact that found holes, but that’s what happens when you put the ball in play, which the Braves couldn’t seem to do.
However, that didn’t stop Spencer Strider, who started Sunday’s game against the Mets, from providing a little more heat to an already fiery rivalry between the two NL East foes. Strider, who is the leading candidate for the NL Rookie of the Year award, only went 2.2 innings — the shortest outing of his career as a starter — giving up four earned runs on 79 pitches. But the stat line wasn’t indicative of how he pitched. The umps strike zone was questionable, to say the least, and seemingly every ball the Mets put in play was hit where the Braves defense wasn’t.
It was frustrating, and Strider let out a lot of that frustration during his postgame press conference.
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
I agree with a lot of what Spencer Strider said about the Mets, especially when it pertains to his particular start. The ump behind the plate was a laughingstock, and I have no idea how Brian Snitker didn’t at least say something at any point in the game. He was constantly turning what would have been two-strike counts into hitter-friendly opportunities, and that is when the Mets were finally able to break through.
Beyond that, even when New York was able to get runners on and push them across, it was usually on weak hits, which plagued the Braves in this series. Still, I want to go back to what I said above. New York does an incredible job of staying alive and putting the ball in play. It may not be the Braves’ offensive style, but good things happen when you consistently make contact and avoid striking out. This is what the Mets have done all season, and while it’s hard to believe it’s sustainable at this rate, they deserve credit for their approach.
But most importantly, I agree with Strider the most on this point — it’s only August. Right now, the Mets are the better team and playing arguably the best baseball of any team. However, there are two more months for the Braves to figure things out. It’s all about playing your best baseball when October arrives. That is who will end up raising the Commissioner’s Trophy, and that is all that matters.
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