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New York Mets’ Dillon Gee Falls Apart In Fifth Inning, Leads To Loss To Atlanta Braves

By Kenneth Teape

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5. 17. 3. 3. Final

The New York Mets Were Unable To Overcome A Rough Fifth Inning From Dillon Gee, Leading To A Loss To The Atlanta Braves

Things have not gone well for the New York Mets thus far down south, as they lost for the second consecutive night to the Atlanta Braves. Tonight’s game had the looks of another pitcher’s duel, but the offenses finally woke up in the second half of the game.

Through the first 4 ½ innings, there was only one run scored, courtesy of a Freddie Freeman home run off of Dillon Gee. But in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Braves got the scoring going against Gee as he seemed to lose some steam towards the end of the second time and beginning of third time around the order.

The Braves started the bottom of the fifth with three straight doubles off the bats of Alberto Callaspo, Christian Bethancourt and Andrelton Simmons, scoring two runs. That pushed the Braves’ lead to 3-0, but they were not yet done.

Starting pitcher Julio Teheran laid down a sacrifice bunt that was followed by a triple from former Met Eric Young Jr. After a Jace Peterson groundout, Nick Markakis singled home Young Jr. for the Braves’ fourth run of the inning.

That was the end of Gee’s night, as he was pinch hit for in the top of the sixth inning by John Mayberry. His first start of the season started strong, but ended in disaster as Gee’s final line was five innings pitched with eight hits and no walks allowed, resulting in five runs, all earned, to go with two strikeouts.

Teheran, who opposed Gee, had a much better night. Like Gee, Teheran got off to a strong start. He didn’t allow a run through his first six innings of work, as the Mets only had three base runners over that time.

But everything changed in the seventh inning, as Teheran looked to tweak his knee while avoiding a Lucas Duda single. It threw him off his game, as Teheran lost all control on the mound, walking the next two batters he faced to load the bases after cruising through the first six innings. To make things worse, Callaspo then committed an error at third base to score a run, and then Teheran hit Travis d’Arnaud with a pitch to plate another one.

The Mets looked poised to get right back in the game a Teheran unraveled, but that is essentially all the Mets would get. Teheran was lifted after the HPB, as the Braves went to their bullpen and they shut the door. Brandon Cunniff came in and threw one pitch to get two outs, forcing Wilmer Flores into a double play that scored the Mets’ third run. That would be the last run they scored in the inning, and game, as the Braves bullpen continued their early season dominance.

More from New York Mets

After the trade of Craig Kimbrel on the eve of the season, many thought that the Braves bullpen would be in for a long season. So far so good, as they continue to prove doubters wrong, carrying an 18 ⅔ inning scoreless streak to begin the season. The Braves have an interesting mix of youngsters and veterans in the bullpen that are clicking right now, helping the Braves to the undefeated start they have.

The Mets will look to avoid the sweep, and end the Braves undefeated start, tomorrow afternoon as the NL East rivals wrap up their first series of the season. Bartolo Colon will look to build off of his stellar Opening Day victory over the Washington Nationals, and will be opposed by Braves’ youngster Alex Wood.

Next: New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves Series Preview

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