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New York Mets Streak Reaches Nine With Win Over Atlanta Braves

By Michael Papandrea

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1. 17. Final. 7. 3

It looked like runs would be hard to come by, but eventually this hot New York Mets lineup took over in the middle innings to help lead them to their ninth straight victory by defeating the Atlanta Braves 7-1. The win pushes the Mets to 11-3 to give them a 2.5 game lead over the second place Braves, giving the team its largest first place cushion since 2008.

It was a breakout night for Curtis Granderson, who was held without an RBI up to this point. Part of that is because he is hitting in the leadoff spot, but a bigger reason is the fact he hasn’t been hitting. He ended up going 3-5 with four RBI in his last three at bats. With the injuries to David Wright and Travis d’Arnaud, the Mets have lost two key components to their lineup for the time being. Granderson needed to step up offensively, and tonight was a good sign as he was not only hitting, but hitting hard.

“He did need a big night,” said Terry Collins after the game. “It was good for him because we all think he’s gonna hit. When you look up at the and of the year, I’m sure his numbers are gonna be there. He’s one of those guys that’s in that room that makes that room better, so it’s nice to see him have a good game.”

The man that he drove in twice was newcomer Kevin Plawecki, who had a solid debut going 2-4, and could have very well collected three hits had Freddie Freeman not snagged the line drive Plawecki hit in his first major league at-bat. His first hit he was able get sneak by the Braves infield wall who goes by the name of Andrelton Simmons. His second hit was another hard hit ground ball to get past the infield and into right.

The Mets broke the game open in the 5th, after Braves starter, Trevor Cahill, was faced with a bases loaded, no outs situation. Cahill, who was so good through the first four innings with his sinker producing plenty of ground balls, was struggling with location to his counterpart, Jon Niese.

On a 3-1 count, Niese would end up hitting a routine ground ball to second base that Phil Gosselin couldn’t handle. Everyone was safe and the bases were still loaded for Granderson who singled in two runs to go up 3-0. Next up was Juan Lagares, who singled to bring in the final run of the inning and also extend his hitting streak to eight games.

Niese had his best start of the season, going 6 2/3 innings and allowing one run on four hits. The low hit total is a positive sign as he had given up more hits than innings pitched through his first two starts. The lone run came off the bat of Cameron Maybin, who hit a home run in the seventh, his second long ball off Niese this season.

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The Mets would manufacture three more runs with the end of the lineup reaching base, followed by Granderson and Lagares bringing them in. If there was a low point in this game for the Mets, it was their 3-4-5 hitters going 0-11 with two walks coming from Lucas Duda. Duda has been hot on this home stand, but is now 1-10 with four walks in his last three games.

The Mets will send Dillon Gee to the mound tomorrow night while the Braves will use Eric Stults. Gee has struggled a bit on the season, as evident by his 7.59 ERA. In his first start on the season, the Braves scored five runs in five innings off the right hander.

Next: Where do the Mets rank in our MLB Power Rankings?

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