Thursday, September 24, 2015 headlines: New York Mets Statements on Yogi Berra
Braves’ Freddie Freeman Reprises His Role as a Mets Nemesis
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- Mets stumble late, but magic number cut to 5
- Bartolo Colon flirts with perfect game, but Mets fall to Atlanta Braves, 6-3 | Rapid reaction
- David Wright, Freddie Freeman engage in competitive banter during Mets loss to Atlanta Braves
- Sore wrist doesnt stop Braves Freeman from driving in 5
- OTHER METS NEWS Morning Briefing: Nationals cant take advantage of Mets poor homestand
Braves’ Freddie Freeman Reprises His Role as a Mets Nemesis DAVID WALDSTEIN, NEW YORK TIMES David Wright settled into first base after knocking in the tying run in the seventh inning, looked over at Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman and appeared to say something unprintable. After the game, which the Braves won, 6-3, thanks almost entirely to Freeman, Wright was asked about the invective he had unleashed, because it looked as if he were genuinely angry at Freeman. “I am angry at him,” Wright said. “He hit a two-run double and a three-run homer. I am angry at him.” Wright went on to explain that the anger was playful in spirit, just competitive banter between divisional rivals. But he had reason to feel some level of disgust toward Freeman. The Mets are trying desperately to win a few games and clinch the National League East. Freeman, with nothing to play for except professional pride, hit a go-ahead, pinch-hit, two-run double in the seventh inning, then broke a 3-3 tie in the ninth with his three-run shot off Jeurys Familia, the Mets’ closer. Wright described his adversary as a thorn in the Mets’ side. Since 2012, Freeman has 15 home runs against the Mets, tied with Giancarlo Stanton for most against the Mets in that time frame, and 61 R.B.I., numbers reminiscent of Chipper Jones, the former Brave who battered the Mets so routinely that he named one of his children Shea, after their old stadium. Over all, Freeman has 16 home runs in 88 career games against the Mets, with 25 doubles and 69 R.B.I. His level of productivity against them has been potent, but on Wednesday it was freakish, with five R.B.I. and six total bases in two plate appearances. “Freddie came in and single-handedly beat us tonight,” Wright said. “That’s why he is who he is, and it seems like he elevates his game against us.” The loss was the Mets’ sixth in their last eight games at home, and even though the Washington Nationals lost again, too, the Mets are not playing like a team worthy of winning a division and going to the playoffs. Neither are the Nationals, who were defeated by the Baltimore Orioles, 4-3. That shaved the magic number for the Mets to win the division down to five, with 10 games to play. But if not for Freeman, who played only three innings Wednesday, the Mets might have been able to pretty much put the race away. The Mets did not even expect Freeman to play. Word had filtered over to their side of the stadium that he had a sore wrist, and he was left out of the starting lineup against Bartolo Colon, who pitched brilliantly through six innings. “We heard before the game that his wrist was really bothering him and he wasn’t going to play,” Mets Manager Terry Collins said of Freeman. “So I’m going to fire that scout, I can tell you that.” Colon did not allow a base runner until Jace Peterson’s slow infield single with two outs in the fifth, and looked as perfect as a pitcher can be through the first four innings, requiring only 32 pitches to that point. But in the seventh inning he loaded the bases with one out and was replaced by Addison Reed, who allowed all three runners to score. The big hit was Freeman’s pinch-hit double off the wall in right field that barely eluded Curtis Granderson’s glove, and the Braves went ahead, 3-2. Wright evened the score in the bottom of the inning with his single that scored Eric Young Jr. But as Wright stood at third base in the top of the ninth inning, he saw Freeman do even more damage after Cameron Maybin reached on an infield single and Michael Bourn walked. Familia grooved a split-fingered fastball, and Freeman walloped it into the seats in left-center field. This time, Wright had nothing to say to Freeman as he rounded third. “I didn’t even want to look at him,” Wright said. The night before, Collins said the Mets were playing tight. He said they swung their bats better in this game, but the result was the same, another loss when they could have left the Nationals at the threshold of elimination. Instead, the Mets essentially backed their way forward. “It’s always good when that magic number shrinks,” Wright said. “Ultimately, we’d like to play better and have that magic number shrink because we’re winning, not because they are losing.” Mets stumble late, but magic number cut to 5 MARK BOWMAN, JOE TREZZA, MLB.COM The Mets had to begin the day thinking, at least this once, Freddie Freeman wouldn't hurt them. The slugger started the day on the bench to rest his right wrist. But by the end of the night, Freeman had provided two deciding blows in the Braves' 6-3 series-stealing win on Wednesday at Citi Field. Freeman's pinch-hit two-run double gave Atlanta a lead in the seventh, and his tiebreaking three-run homer off Jeurys Familia in the ninth ensured the Mets finished their homestand 3-6, but their magic number to clinch the National League East was reduced to 5 as the Nationals lost to the Orioles. "We heard before the game his wrist was really bothering him and they didn't think he was going to play," Mets manager Terry Collins said of Freeman. "I'm going to fire that scout, I'll tell you that," Collins added jokingly. Familia allowed an infield single to Cameron Maybin and walked Michael Bourn to set the stage for Freeman, who clubbed his 16th career home run against New York in 86 games. Freeman's five RBIs gave him 69 over the last five years against the Mets, more than any other player. By taking two of three from New York this week, the Braves claimed their second road series victory since the All-Star break and put themselves in a spot where they have to win just one of their final nine games to avoid a 100-loss season. "We haven't laid down as bad as it's been and as tough as it's been," Maybin said. "I enjoy showing up every day and playing with these guys because we've got no quit in this group. We believe we have a chance every day. You play 27 outs for a reason." The Mets appeared poised to notch their 40th comeback win of the season when David Wright tied the game at 3 with a seventh-inning RBI single off Brandon Cunniff. That wriggled Bartolo Colon off the hook after he allowed three runs over 6 1/3 innings. Colon took a perfect game into the fifth before his pace and location lagged in the seventh, when three singles loaded the bases to end his night. That brought on Addison Reed for the biggest situation of his young Mets career. Reed allowed all three inherited runners to score. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Wright stuff: The Mets averaged 2.55 runs per game on this homestand, but Wright hit .353. One of his biggest hits came off Cunniff in the seventh, when he lined a 94-mph fastball into left-center for a clutch single to score Eric Young Jr. with the tying run. Healthy enough to deliver: With an off-day scheduled on Thursday, the Braves took advantage of a chance to allow Freeman to rest his previously sprained right wrist, which has occasionally bothered him over the past few weeks. But when the situation presented itself with the bases loaded in the seventh, Freeman came off the bench and delivered the go-ahead two-run double. His mammoth opposite-field homer in the ninth capped the fourth five-RBI game of his career, three of which have come at the Mets' expense. Freeman originally injured the wrist while taking a swing at Citi Field on June 13. Less than a week later, he began a five-week stint on the disabled list. "It's just been one of those years that hasn't gone the way we wanted it to go," Freeman said. "But when you have a game like this where you get down early and come back against a first-place team, it's definitely a good feeling." More > Holding steady: Williams Perez surrendered Daniel Murphy's first-inning homer and allowed singles to three of the first four batters he faced in the second inning. But despite encountering frequent threats, he allowed just two runs over six innings. The Braves rookie, who has a 2.91 ERA over his past four starts, benefited from a Colon sacrifice-bunt attempt that resulted in a double play to end the fourth inning. QUOTABLE "[Former Braves manager] Bobby Cox did it all the time. When you give your [top] players a night off, it's almost better because you can put them in a game at any point that you want. He came up with the bases loaded and then came up again [in the ninth] with guys on first and second in a clutch situation." -- Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, on Freeman "I wasn't expecting to see him tonight. He came off the bench and killed us in the end. We're glad to get rid of him and Andrelton Simmons and everyone else who beats us up over there." -- Wright SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Wright's game-tying single stands as the only hit Cunniff has allowed against the last 19 batters he has faced. Pinch-running for Ruben Tejada in the seventh, Young swiped his second base since rejoining the Mets on Sept. 1. That put him in scoring position for Wright. Young doesn't have a hit in September, but he's now scored nine runs. That ties the record for runs scored in September/October by specialty pinch-runners, set by Allan Lewis in 1973. YOGI TRIBUTE The Mets played a pregame video tribute to Yogi Berra on the scoreboard and observed a moment of silence for the baseball legend before the first pitch. Berra, who died Tuesday at age 90 of natural causes, managed the Mets for four seasons in the 1970s. WHAT'S NEXT Braves: Atlanta will enjoy an off-day on Thursday and then begin a three-game series at Marlins Park on Friday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Rookie Ryan Weber will oppose Jose Fernandez in the series opener. The Braves have won each of the previous six games played in Miami this year. Mets: New York's magic number sits at 5 as the Mets open a four-game series in Cincinnati on Thursday. Left-hander Steven Matz starts for the Mets against the team he beat in his Major League debut on June 28. Bartolo Colon flirts with perfect game, but Mets fall to Atlanta Braves, 6-3 | Rapid reaction MARIA GUARDADO, NJ ADVANCE MEDIA The Mets wasted an early two-run lead and a brilliant effort by Bartolo Colon on Wednesday night, allowing the sub-.500 Atlanta Braves to rally and emerge with a 6-3 win at Citi Field. With the game tied, 3-3, Freddie Freeman crushed a go-ahead, three-run bomb to left field off Mets closer Jeurys Familia in the top of the ninth, lifting the Braves to victory in the rubber game of the series. Despite not being in Atlanta's starting lineup, Freeman finished the night with five RBI and also delivered a two-run double in the seventh, which gave the Braves a 3-2 lead at the time. Captain David Wright leveled the game with an RBI single off Brandon Cunniff in the bottom of the seventh, but the club ultimately failed to recoup the lead. The Mets have now dropped three consecutive series after going 3-6 during this nine-game home stand. Even so, they got some help from the Baltimore Orioles, who defeated the Washington Nationals, 4-3, on Wednesday, bringing their magic number down to five with 10 games left to play. STARTING PITCHER: For four innings, Bartolo Colon was perfect. Colon retired 14 consecutive batters to open the game before giving up a two-out infield single to Jace Peterson in the fifth. The 42-year-old tossed six shutout innings but ran into trouble in the seventh, when he allowed the Braves to load the bases with one out. Addison Reed was then summoned from the bullpen to protect the Mets' 2-0 lead, but he gave up an RBI single to Michael Bourn, followed by a two-run double to Freeman, which put the Braves ahead, 3-2. All three runs were charged to Colon, who gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out one over 6 1/3 innings. HIGHLIGHTS: • Daniel Murphy crushed a solo shot to right-center off Braves starter Willams Perez to give the Mets a 1-0 lead in the first inning. It was Murphy's 13th home run of the season, which ties a career high. • The Mets tacked on another run in the second via Ruben Tejada's RBI single, scoring Lucas Duda from third. • Travis d'Arnaud singled in the second, snapping an 0-for-18 slump. He finished the night 2-for-4. LOWLIGHTS: • Though he has yet to allow an earned run since joining the Mets on Aug. 30, Reed allowed all three inherited runners to score in the seventh, which erased the Mets' 2-0 lead at the time. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Mets held a moment of silence prior to the game in honor of Yankee legend Yogi Berra, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 90. INJURY REPORT: • Juan Uribe took batting practice on Wednesday and steadily recovering from the deep bruise in his chest cavity. He entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth and smacked a leadoff single. • Carlos Torres was unavailable for Wednesday's game, as his strained left calf is still an issue. He is scheduled to perform pitcher's fielding exercises on Thursday to see if he's capable of covering first and backing up bases. UP NEXT: The Mets head to Cincinnati to open a four-game series with the Reds on Thursday. Lefty Steven Matz (4-0, 1.80) will start the opener for the Mets and oppose Josh Smith (0-2, 7.71 ERA). David Wright, Freddie Freeman engage in 'competitive banter' during Mets' loss to Atlanta Braves MARIA GUARDADO, NJ ADVANCE MEDIA Freddie Freeman's bat was all it took for the Atlanta Braves to roll over the Mets, 6-3, on Wednesday night at Citi Field. Freeman, who was kept out of Atlanta's starting lineup due to a bothersome wrist, came off the bench in the seventh inning and subsequently became a one-man wrecking crew. With the Braves down, 2-1, Freeman smacked a two-run double to erase the Mets' tenuous edge and give his club its first lead of the night. Though David Wright knotted the game with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning, Freeman then delivered the knockout blow in the ninth by clubbing a go-ahead, three-run homer off closer Jeurys Familia, lifting the Braves to a 6-3 win. Freeman finished 2-for-2 with five RBI, matching a career-high. "We heard before the game that his wrist was really bothering him and they didn't think he was going to play," manager Terry Collins said. "So I'm going to fire that scout. I'll tell you that." Freeman has established himself as a bonafide Mets killer in recent years, as he has 15 home runs against the club since 2012, which is tied with Miami's Giancarlo Stanton for the most against New York in that span. Freeman has also collected 61 RBI in that time frame -- the next highest is Philadelphia's Ryan Howard with 48 RBI. "Freddie is a thorn in our side," Wright said. "It's fun to kind of get that competitiveness back and forth. I wasn't expecting to see him tonight, so he comes off the bench and kills us again. I'll be glad to get rid of him and Andrelton Simmons and everybody else that beats us up over there. But Freddie came in and singlehandedly beat us tonight. That's why he is who he is. Seems like he elevates his game against us." After he singled to tie the game, 3-3, in the bottom of the seventh, Wright was caught on camera directing profanity at Freeman. (Warning: The GIF below contains explicit language.) "I am angry at him. He hit a two-run double and a three-run homer," Wright said of the exchange at first base. "I am angry at him, but more in a playful way. Freddie and I, we go back and forth every now and then. It's nothing more than competitive banter." Still, unfortunately for the Mets, Freeman got the last laugh in the ninth when he smoked an 0-1 splitter from Familia to left field. Did Freeman offer a verbal response to Wright as he rounded the bases? "No," Wright said. "I didn't even want to look at him. I had already been disgusted with him at that point. Like I said, I like Freddie. I enjoy watching him beat other teams. I just don't like him playing like he does against us." Sore wrist doesn't stop Braves' Freeman from driving in 5 ASSOCIATED PRESS Freddie Freeman's right wrist looked just fine. The Braves slugger was supposed to get Wednesday night off to rest his sore joint. Instead, he matched a career high with five RBIs, hitting a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the ninth inning after doubling in two as a pinch hitter in the seventh to lead Atlanta to a 6-3 win over the New York Mets. "The wrist has been bothering me for a couple of weeks now and it's definitely worse," Freeman said. "I just have to muster up and play through it, and I told Skip before the game that if a big situation comes up, I'll go up and hit." He got two huge hits after the Braves fell behind 2-0 against Bartolo Colon. Atlanta beat the Mets for the second straight night, giving the Braves five wins in 26 games away from home since July 27. Manager Fredi Gonzalez hoped to give Freeman two days off — the Braves have an off day Thursday — before opening a series at Miami. Freeman spent more than six weeks on the disabled list this summer because of a wrist injury. "Our training staff did a terrific job," Gonzalez said. "We gave him enough time to get warmed up when we had to use him." David Wright had a tying, two-out single off Brandon Cuniff in the seventh after the Braves scored three times in the top half to take a 3-2 lead. But closer Jeurys Familia failed in the ninth as the NL East leaders finished 3-6 on their penultimate set at Citi Field. New York stayed 6 1/2 games in front of second-place Washington, whose 4-3 loss to Baltimore trimmed the Mets' magic number to five for clinching the division title. Freeman had a two-run double and Michael Bourn singled in a run off Addison Reed after Colon was lifted with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh. Mets manager Terry Collins brought in his closer to maintain the tie, but Familia gave up a one-out single to Cameron Maybin and walked Bourn. Freeman, who appeared to have a testy conversation with Wright at first base in the bottom of the seventh after the New York captain's hit tied it, launched a drive deep into the stands in left-center for the first homer off Familia (2-2) in 28 appearances. "Freddie is a thorn in our side," Wright said. "It was fun to get that competitiveness back and forth. I wasn't expecting to see him tonight and he comes off the bench and kills us again." Said a smiling Freeman: "I have no idea what was said. It was in a very playful manner, I promise you that." Edwin Jackson (2-2) got one out for the win. Arodys Vizcaino worked the ninth for his seventh save. Colon held the Braves without a baserunner until there were two outs in the fifth, but A.J. Pierzynski and Andrelton Simmons started the seventh with singles off the 42-year-old right-hander. After an out, Maybin singled to chase Colon. Reed has not yielded a run for New York since being acquired on Aug. 30, but he's allowed all five inherited runners to score. Colon was charged with five hits and three runs in 6 1-3 innings. He was looking to reach 15 wins for a third straight season in his 40s. Braves starter Williams Perez gave up two early runs, a homer to Daniel Murphy in the first and an RBI single to Ruben Tejada an inning later, but settled in through six. The Mets helped him out, though, stranding Yoenis Cespedes following a two-out triple in the third. Colon bunted into a double play in the fourth. HONORING YOGI Braves first baseman Nick Swisher, who played four seasons for the Yankees, had No. 8 written on the side of his hat in honor of Yogi Berra, who died Tuesday night. TRAINER'S ROOM Mets: RHP Carlos Torres (left calf) will do fielding drills off the mound Thursday to see how close he is to being available again out of the bullpen. UP NEXT Braves: Ryan Weber began the season in Double-A. On Friday, he makes his fourth big league start, at Miami. Jose Fernandez will be trying to improve to a major league-record 17-0 at home to start his career. OTHER METS NEWS Morning Briefing: Nationals can't take advantage of Mets' poor homestand ADAM RUBIN, ESPNNEWYORK.COM FIRST PITCH: At least the Washington Nationals seem incapable of taking advantage. The New York Mets completed a 3-6 homestand with a loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. Still, the Amazin’s maintained a 6 ½-game lead atop the National League East and watched their magic number dip to five thanks to the Nats’ 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. The Mets now head to Cincinnati and then Philadelphia, aiming to wrap up the division before an Oct. 2-4 season-ending showdown against the Nats at Citi Field. “It’s always good when that magic number shrinks,” captain David Wright said after the team’s latest loss. “Ultimately we’d like to play better and have that magic number shrink because we’re winning, and not have to have it shrink because they’re losing. “I think this is our first losing homestand all year. We’ve played well at home. Lately we’ve played really well on the road. So hopefully we continue to be those road warriors.” Steven Matz (4-0, 1.80 ERA) opposes Reds right-hander Josh Smith (0-2, 7.71) in Thursday’s 7:10 p.m. ET series opener in Cincinnati. The Mets also will pitch Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom during that four-game series -- albeit Harvey for an abbreviated period. “It’s a poor homestand, but we’ve got some of those young horses going in Cincinnati,” Wright said. “So, hopefully, we can go win a series and get that much closer.” The Mets scored 23 runs during the nine-game homestand -- an average of 2.6 runs per game. Manager Terry Collins hopes heading to hitter-friendly ballparks in Cincinnati and Philadelphia will revive the Mets’ offense. That proved to be the case when the Amazin’s had consecutive series at Colorado and Philadelphia in late August and scored 73 runs in seven games. “These are two good-hitting parks,” Collins said. “We seem to swing pretty good in some of these parks that are a little more hitter-friendly. Hopefully we get it going.” As for summing up losing two of three to the Braves, Collins added late Wednesday: “This is the big leagues. And you can’t take anybody for granted. You’ve got to go play, and play well. Nobody rolls over in this league. “We’re going to get on the plane tonight, catch our breath, get up tomorrow and go play as hard as we can against Cincinnati.” THURSDAY’S NEWS REPORTS: Freddie Freeman came off the bench to produce five RBIs, including a tiebreaking three-run homer in the ninth against Jeurys Familia, as the Braves beat the Mets, 6-3, in Wednesday’s rubber game at Citi Field. Wright, who tied the score at 3 in the seventh with an RBI single, uttered a profanity to Freeman upon arriving at first base. However, Wright insisted postgame that it was playful banter. Bartolo Colon retired the first 14 batters he faced. He departed with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh and the Mets leading 2-0. Addison Reed allowed all three inherited runners to score. Read game recaps in the Post, Daily News, Times, Newsday and at MLB.com. The Mets remembered the late Yogi Berra with a moment of silence before Wednesday’s game. The team will not wear a patch. Read more on Berra’s passing from columnist Tara Sullivan in the Record and from news stories in the Times, Post, Daily News, Newsday, Journal and at MLB.com. Juan Uribe had a pinch-hit single in the ninth on Wednesday in his first action since suffering a deep chest bruise diving for a groundball on Sunday. Reliever Carlos Torres was unavailable because his balky left calf issue has compromised his ability to field his position. He is due to test the leg on Thursday in Cincinnati by doing fielding drills. Read more on the Mets’ recent offensive struggles in Newsday. From the bloggers … Faith and Fear remembers Berra as both lucky and good. BIRTHDAYS: Hubie Brooks turns 59. ... Bernard Gilkey is 49. 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