Braves Crush Mets, 11-5

April 6, 2008 – 10:22 am

In a rainy matchup, the Braves’ offense took it to the Mets’ pitching in yesterday’s matchup that pitted John Maine against Tim Hudson.  Maine never really settled into a groove of looking comfortable, walking three and giving up eight hits and four runs in only four innings of work.  Hudson looked decently strong in his outing, issuing six hits, striking out four, throwing no walks, and giving up three earned runs through six innings.  The Braves provided the needed run support to give Hudson his first win of the season.  I still think Maine will have a solid season for the Mets, he just struggled to find the needed consistency in yesterday’s game.

The Braves got on the board early by scoring in the first inning and continued to do so throughout the game.  Kelly Johnson sealed the victory in the 7th while pinch hitting for Peter Moylan with the bases loaded.  Johnson drove one deep over the right field wall for a grand slam, putting the Braves up 9-3 at the time.  The Mets and Braves both scored 2 in the 8th to bring the final score to 11-5.  Hopefully the Braves saved some offense for today’s game that surely will be a pitcher’s duel.

The strange point in the game came in the Mets’ half of the 5th inning.  The bases were loaded with 1 out for Jose Reyes, who drove a sharp line drive to center.  Mark Kotsay made a diving stab at the ball, but apparently was a trap instead of a catch.  I had to confirm with JB from BravesBlog.net as he was enjoying the game in the dry warmth of his home instead of sitting out in the cold rain with the rest of us.  Kotsay relayed the ball back to the infield into what was originally scored a 8-2-4 double play.  In one of the stranger moments I’ve seen in baseball, the call was actually reversed, the runners were sent back to the bases and the Braves were sent back out in to the field.  In the end, it proved irrelevant.

Today’s matchup is the much awaited meeting of John Smoltz and Johan Santana.  Two aces of their respective staffs, facing off against one another.  This is what baseball is really all about.

Tags: John Maine, Kelly Johnson, Mark Kotsay, New York Mets, Tim Hudson
Posted in Game Analysis |