Ah, rivalry games. There’s nothing better than beating your rival. And, in this case, there’s nothing better than when the Braves beat the Mets.
The game started out pretty decently for us. We started out early with a run on a sac fly by McCann, driving in Kotsay, who actually had a hit tonight. But the Mets struck back with a run in the 2nd, and it stayed that way till the bottom of the 3rd, when the Braves got back ahead for good. Francoeur and Diaz had run-scoring singles, driving in Chipper and Teixeira, respectively, to make the score 3-1. Tex tacked on another run-scoring single in the 4th inning, and the Braves were starting to cruise.
Then, controversy ensued. With one out and the bases loaded in the top of the 5th, Jose Reyes hit a sinking line drive to centerfield that Kotsay dove for and, in the third base umpire’s view, caught. Kotsay threw to McCann, who threw to second to create the double play, and the inning was over. And then all hell broke loose. Randolph came out and argued. The umpires met (during which time television replays showed that Kotsay had indeed trapped the ball) and ruled that it was a hit. Runners advanced one base, there was still one out, the bases were STILL loaded, and a run was in. Hudson was able to get Pagan to ground into a fielder’s choice, which drove in another run, and then Wright popped out to left and the inning was over. The Braves were clinging to a 4-3 lead.
The Braves tacked on an insurance run in the 6th when Kotsay knocked in Ruben Gotay with a single. Going to the bottom of the 7th, the Braves were holding onto a 5-3 lead. And they were facing an old friend, Jorge Sosa, who lost out on the 6th starter spot to Mike Pelfrey out of spring training. Jorge struck out Tex, and it looked as if he might breeze through the inning, but then Sosa got back to his 2006 ways by giving up a double to McCann. Francoeur singled to right, and there were men on first and third with one out. Diaz then whiffed, almost falling down in the process, and it looked like we’d be heading to the 8th with a slim 2-run lead. Prado then walked, setting the stage for pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson’s two-out heroics. With the count full and the fans on their feet, Johnson corked one to deep right field for a pinch-hit grand slam to bust the game wide open.
The Mets were able to close the gap to 9-5 in the next inning, but the Braves added two insurance runs in the bottom of the 8th and sent in Soriano to seal the deal in the 9th. He did just that, and got the Mets 1-2-3 for a much needed confidence booster and a big win over the big rival.
Hudson pitched 6 strong innings for his first win of the season, and Frenchy and Chipper both went 3 for 5 to help lead the offensive onslaught. Kotsay was good for once, getting two hits, and Tex’s 2 hits seem to indicate that he is starting to bust out of his chronic early season struggles.
The game tomorrow is at 1:35, and is not nationally televised.
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I get the umpires’ rationale for advancing everybody up one base, but Pagan should have been called out because he passed Church. Whether the ball was caught was irrelevant. He saw him there, he passed him. Out.
Comment by BenMurphy — April 5, 2008 @ 10:22 pm
It’s true. He should have been called out.
Comment by chipperboy1 — April 5, 2008 @ 11:22 pm