The second game of the first series of the season between the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets is going along like many of the series between the rival teams have gone in the past: The Braves won again.
Wednesday night, in front of a second straight sellout crowd (39,926), Atlanta defeated New York 5-0. The series finale will take place on Thursday, Juneteenth, with a scheduled 7:15 p.m. first pitch.
Chris Sale was back on the mound for Atlanta and looked as good as he has all season. Sale threw just over 100 pitches, struck out seven Mets, didn’t give up a run in 8.2 innings of work Wednesday night. To put it in a word, Sale was brilliant.
The Braves gave Sale a ton of run support early in the game, scoring three runs in the first inning. The third of those runs on a very odd error (see “Weird Times” below). Ronald Acuna, Jr., continued his strong run of play, hitting a solo home run off Mets starter Paul Blackburn on the right-hander’s first pitch of the game.
Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies has struggled this season, but he has been playing better recently. Albies opened the game with a triple and a double in his first two at-bats. He would score his first run of the game on a wild pitch from Mets pitcher Jose Butto in the fourth inning. The error by Butto helped put the Braves ahead 4-0.
Albies momentarily came out of the game in the sixth inning after getting hit in the leg by a pitch from Jose Castillo. Albies could be seen walking around in the Braves’ dugout minutes later.
Matt Olson’s seventh-inning solo home run added an insurance run for Sale, who
With the loss, the Mets are now under .500 on the road this season, at 18-19. The Braves are drawing closer to the .500 mark, at 33-39, and have now won consecutive series.
What’s Next: Following another game with the Mets on Thursday night, the Braves will fly south to play the Miami Marlins in a three-game series beginning on Friday.
Weird Times: There were some odd moments in this game. In the first inning, Mets catcher Luis Torrens corralled a wild pitch from starting pitcher Paul Blackburn by using his mask. The illegal move forced home a run from third.
Cool Moment: Grammy award winning singer and universally respected performer Usher Raymind threw out the first pitch before Wednesday’s game. It was also Usher bobblehead night at Truist Park. Fans were lining up at least three hours before they were allowed to enter the park in order to be sure they got an Usher bobblehead.
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