Mets vs. Braves recap: Mets fall out of first as the season winds down

Oct 2, 2022 - 2:31 AM

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For the second straight game the Mets ace was very unace-like and the offense was not equal to the task as the team fell to Atlanta 4-2. Just like Jacob deGrom before him, Max Scherzer was bitten by the long ball when Dansby Swanson hit a two-run home run to put the Braves ahead for good in the fifth inning. Matt Olson added on with a solo shot of his own an inning later and Scherzer’s night was done shortly afterwards.

He was not himself and gave up nine hits and four runs in five and two-thirds innings. On a night when the Mets needed Scherzer to be Max Scherzer after Jacob deGrom was not Jacob deGrom it just did not work out.

A two-run deficit should not be insurmountable but the team’s limit was the two runs they already scored. They had their opportunities early on but could never come up with the big hit. They loaded the bases with one out in the first and came away with only one run on a groundout by Eduardo Escobar. They again took the lead in the fifth on a Jeff McNeil hit but the lead was short lived when Scherzer gave up the home run to Swanson in the bottom of the inning. That was pretty much it for the offense as they continue to flail at the plate at the worst possible moment.

On the plus side the bullpen combination of Seth Lugo, Adam Ottovino, David Peterson, and Drew Smith got the job done to at least give their team a chance to come back.

The past two games amounted to the worst case scenario for a team who is now looking more and more like a Wild Card team than a division winner.

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Win Probability Added

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What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Jeff McNeil, +14.7% WPA
Big Mets loser: Max Scherzer, -23.5% WPA
Mets pitchers: -18.9% WPA
Mets hitters: -31.1% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jeff McNeil RBI single in fifth
Teh sux0rest play: Dansby Swanson home run in fifth