Wednesday, September 23, 2015 headlines: Verrett stumbles in the fifth as Mets lose to Braves 6-2
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- HEADLINES: Verrett stumbles in the fifth as Mets lose to Braves 6-2
- Terry Collins says Mets look tight
- FULL ARTICLES: Verrett stumbles in the fifth as Mets lose to Braves 6-2: Logan Verrett slips up in fifth as Braves beat Mets
- Terry Collins: Tyler Clippards struggles unrelated to back issue
- Rapid Reaction: Braves 6, Mets 2
- Mets lose to Braves, but magic number still shrinks with help from Orioles
- Mets lose to Braves, 6-2, but magic number reduced to 6 as Nationals fall
- Mets Fall to the Braves, but Manage to Gain Ground With Outside Help
- Wright makes great barehanded play for out
Wednesday, September 23, 2015   
HEADLINES: Verrett stumbles in the fifth as Mets lose to Braves 6-2:
Mets align rotation:
Yoenis Cespedes:
Terry Collins says Mets look tight:
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FULL ARTICLES: Verrett stumbles in the fifth as Mets lose to Braves 6-2: Logan Verrett slips up in fifth as Braves beat Mets ADAM RUBIN, ESPN NEW YORK NEW YORK -- The likely final start of 2015 for rookie Logan Verrett turned out to be a letdown. After two solid performances filling in for Matt Harvey, Verrett was having similar success Tuesday in a spot start in place of Jacob deGrom. But after taking a scoreless effort into the fifth inning, Verrett surrendered a leadoff homer to Jace Peterson and three-run shot to Hector Olivera in the frame and the Atlanta Braves went on to beat the New York Mets, 6-2, at Citi Field. The Mets had intentionally walked Nick Markakis with two outs, with a runner on second base and the score tied 1-1 ahead of Olivera’s three-run shot -- a decision manager Terry Collins labeled a no-brainer. “One guy has got 175 hits and is hitting .300. And the other guy is hitting .240,” Collins said, contrasting Markakis with Olivera. “I thought it was pretty simple. That’s second-guessing." Collins then turned playful as he continued. The manager added: “I’m going to get home and my wife is going to tell me, ‘You’re an idiot. What are you doing walking that guy? The guy hit a homer.’ 'No s---. What the hell? ... I need you down in the dugout when these decisions are being made.'” Verrett (1-2, 3.40 ERA) approved of pitching around Markakis to get to Olivera. “I thought it set us up well. I liked the matchup against Olivera,” Verrett said. “I just missed with the pitch. Unfortunately, with two guys on base, you can’t do that. It makes it hard to come back from that. "I was trying to go inside. I was trying to go sinker in on him. We had done that a couple of times to him already and he just chopped them into the ground at third base. I just missed on the outside part of the plate. I just yanked it a little bit. And it was up in the zone, so he put a good swing on it.” Terry Collins: Tyler Clippard's struggles unrelated to back issue ADAM RUBIN, ESPN NEW YORK NEW YORK -- New York Mets setup man Tyler Clippard returned to the mound on Monday after being sidelined during the weekend with back tightness. Clippard's struggles then continued Tuesday, although manager Terry Collins said the subpar performance was unrelated to the back issue that briefly idled the reliever. Clippard allowed a two-run double to Adonis Garcia in the ninth inning to cap the scoring in the Atlanta Braves' 6-2 win against the Mets at Citi Field. Clippard has allowed nine earned runs and four homers in his last 8 2/3 innings. "That's not the problem," Collins said about the back. Clippard pitching in the ninth inning Tuesday with the Mets trailing by two runs suggests Collins was trying to get the reliever work in a less critical situation so Clippard can iron out kinks. Given how well Addison Reed has pitched since joining the Mets, it will be interesting to see if Reed gets the eighth inning over Clippard the next time the Mets have a narrow lead. Reed has tossed 11 1/3 scoreless innings since arriving in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Clippard also allowed a three-run homer to Garcia on Sept. 12 at Turner Field. Collins said the issue was the same in both instances -- location. "The ball that Garcia hit in Atlanta, he got him in a good count and he left a changeup up, over the plate," the manager said. "If that ball is down over the plate, it might be a hit. I'm not saying he's not going to get a hit. But he's leaving balls in the middle of the strike zone -- up. He's being hurt by that. It's just a matter of making better pitches." Rapid Reaction: Braves 6, Mets 2 ADAM RUBIN, ESPN NEW YORK NEW YORK -- Logan Verrett twice pitched gems filling in for Matt Harvey. Verrett’s spot start in place of Jacob deGrom turned out far worse. Verrett surrendered a pair of fifth-inning homers and the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 6-2 on Tuesday at Citi Field. The Mets’ magic number nonetheless dipped to six and their division lead remained 6½ games thanks to the Washington Nationals' loss to the Baltimore Orioles in D.C. Trailing 4-1 in the eighth, the Mets (85-66) loaded the bases with one out. Michael Cuddyer, pinch-hitting for Lucas Duda, followed with a sacrifice fly. Wilmer Flores then grounded out to strand two baserunners. Tyler Clippard, who has struggled of late, allowed a two-run double to pinch hitter Adonis Garcia in the ninth. Clippard has allowed nine earned runs and four homers in his last 8 2/3 innings. Verrett coasted into the fifth inning with a 1-0 lead thanks to a solo homer from David Wright against Matt Wisler. Verrett then surrendered a solo homer to Jace Peterson and three-run homer to Hector Olivera in the frame. The Mets decided to intentionally walk Nick Markakis with two outs ahead of Olivera’s long ball. Verrett (1-2) departed for pinch hitter Kelly Johnson with the Mets trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth. The Braves are now 19-49 in their past 68 games. DeGrom is likely to return to the rotation on Sunday in Cincinnati. The Mets decided to skip him Tuesday because they figured his recent struggles could be the result of fatigue. Double stuff: Daniel Murphy produced a pair of doubles, giving him 226 for his career. That passed Ed Kranepool (225) for second on the franchise’s all-time list. Wright ranks first with 381 doubles. Well-armed: Michael Conforto threw out AJ Pierzynski trying to stretch a hit into a double in the sixth inning. That gave Conforto six outfield assists, which is tied with Washington’s Michael Taylor for the National League rookie lead. What’s next: Bartolo Colon (14-12, 4.15) opposes right-hander Williams Perez (6-6, 5.16) in Wednesday’s 7:10 p.m. ET rubber game. Mets lose to Braves, but magic number still shrinks with help from Orioles KRISTIE ACKERT, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Terry Collins has even more reasons to worry. Getting the starting rotation rest and keeping those pitchers sharp has kept the Mets manager up at night over the last few weeks. Now he is watching his hitters fall into an “uptight” funk. The bats were quiet again Tuesday night as the Mets fell to the Braves, 6-2, at Citi Field and Collins is now worried that his team is starting to react to the pressure of clinching its first playoff berth since 2006. The Mets (85-66) lost for the fifth time in eight games, snapping a five-game winning streak against Atlanta (61-91). The defeat also clinched the Mets’ first losing record on a home stand this season. The Mets still hold a 6.5-game lead in the National League East over the Nationals, who lost to the Orioles. Washington’s loss shrunk the Mets’ magic number to clinch the division, and a playoff spot, to six. “I am shocked, very surprised,” Collins said. “We were swinging great coming into a home stand. We have a chance to make a huge impact with a very substantial lead, where nobody needed to be uptight. “Everybody should have been quite relaxed with the lead we have and should have been going out and playing the game nice and loose and calm and for me it looks like we’re tight,” Collins continued. “I don’t know why, that’s just the perception from the bench.” It certainly seems like something is wrong with the at-bats, if you look at the results. The Mets scored 64 runs on their recent 10-game road trip, with the help of 18 home runs. They walked 49 times and struck out 72 times in that span. In their eight games since returning to Citi Field, they have scored 20 runs, including seven homers. They have worked 26 walks and struck out 65 times. On Tuesday night, the Mets opened the scoring on David Wright’s solo homer to right-center field in the first inning. It was Wright’s first homer at Citi Field since July 11, 2014. The Mets other run came when they loaded the bases in the eighth with one out against the Braves struggling bullpen, but could only bring one in on Michael Cuddyer’s sacrifice fly. “I don’t think we are tight,” Wright said. “There will be some games where we get outplayed. Tonight was one of them. It’s not necessarily tight. ... We’ve got to win series. It’s not about going out there and winning every game, not that you don’t want to, but we need to do a better job of winning series. Especially at home.” Said Collins: “We came home and we have played great at home all year long, and all the sudden we hit a wall. “We are not swinging the bats very good. We had 10 more strikeouts tonight. We have got to go back and quit trying to hit homers. Let’s put some balls in play, hit some line drives. We have got to swing the bats better, because we are a better offensive team than we showed this home stand.” It wasn’t just the offense. Logan Verrett (1-1) started in Jacob deGrom’s spot and put the Mets behind with a disastrous fifth inning, in which he allowed four runs on two home runs. Adding to Collins’ concerns, Tyler Clippard gave up a two-run double to Adonis Garcia in the ninth. The setup man has yielded six earned runs in his last four appearances. “He’s just leaving balls in the middle of the zone up,” Collins said. “It’s a matter of making better pitches.” And for the “uptight” Mets, it’s simply a matter having better at-bats, pitching more effectively and finally getting the division race over with. Mets lose to Braves, 6-2, but magic number reduced to 6 as Nationals fall GREG LOGAN, NEWSDAY As the innings passed and the Mets' bats remained quiet in a 6-2 loss to the Braves Tuesday night at Citi Field, the attention of a crowd of 26,227 inevitably drifted to the out-of-town scoreboard high atop the leftfield stands. The news there gave comfort to Mets fans because a Nationals loss to the Orioles maintained the Mets' NL East lead at 61/2 games while reducing their magic number to clinch the division to six. Trailing 4-2 in the eighth, the Mets had one golden opportunity to piece together another late-game comeback when they loaded the bases with one out. Pinch-hitter Michael Cuddyer got one run home with a sacrifice fly, but Wilmer Flores grounded out to end the threat. In the ninth, reliever Tyler Clippard gave up a two-run double to pinch-hitter Adonis Garcia, putting the game out of reach. At least another page came off the calendar. Asked if the Nationals' loss salvaged a positive outcome, Terry Collins said, "No, we've got to play better. We've played great at home all year, and all of a sudden, we've hit a wall. We've got to swing the bats better. We're a better offensive team than we've [shown] this homestand." Coming off an 8-2 road trip with sweeps in Washington and Atlanta, Collins figured the Mets were primed to keep rolling at home. But they went 1-2 against the Yanks and Miami and are 1-1 against the Braves with the rubber game Wednesday. "I'm shocked," Collins said about the Mets' slide in run production at home. "We were swinging great. Coming home with the lead we had, nobody needs to be uptight. For me, it looks like we're tight." Logan Verrett started the game for the Mets in place of Jacob deGrom, who skipped a turn in the rotation for much-needed rest. Verrett's first two starts were in place of Matt Harvey, and he went 1-0 with a sterling 1.38 ERA in those games. David Wright staked Verrett to a 1-0 lead with a laser shot over the fence in center in the first inning. But Braves second baseman Jace Peterson led off the fifth with a home run to right to tie the game at 1. Michael Bourn then reached base on a one-out infield single and was sacrificed to second by pitcher Matt Wisler (6-8). Collins chose to walk Nick Markakis intentionally to set up the force play, but the strategy backfired when Hector Olivera delivered a three-run homer for a 4-1 lead. That was the end for Verrett, who was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the fifth. "Really, the one pitch in the fifth to Olivera sours this outing," Verrett said. Before the bases-loaded situation in the eighth, the Mets had a couple other opportunities, but after doubles in the first and sixth by Daniel Murphy, Yoenis Cespedes struck out and flied out, and Lucas Duda hit an infield popup and flied out. Wright took issue with his manager about the level of tension with which the Mets have been gripping their bats on this homestand. "No, I don't think we're tight," Wright said. "There's going to be games when you get outplayed. We need to do a better job of winning series at home. It seems like the last couple series have gotten away from us. "It's not making excuses. The Yankees played well against us, and Miami had won five straight series coming in here. I don't sense anybody is tight in here. It's playoff baseball. There's going to be a little pressure. We're trying to make a push. But I don't sense it carrying over to the field." Mets Fall to the Braves, but Manage to Gain Ground With Outside Help DAVID WALDSTEIN, NEW YORK TIMES With a successful road trip and an eight-game winning streak, the Mets built their lead in the National League East to nine and a half games with only 17 to play. Even for a team with a recent history of shocking collapses, that should have been enough allow the Mets to glide joyfully into their first division title since 2006. But since then, the Mets have lost five of seven, the most recent a 6-2 decision to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night, in a slide that has left their manager wondering what happened to the loose, confident bunch that rampaged through Washington and Atlanta two weeks ago. The Washington Nationals also lost on Tuesday, dropping the Mets’ magic number to clinch the division to six, with 11 games left on their schedule. Even the most cynical Mets fans, still stinging from the team’s notorious failures of 2007 and 2008, recognize the team’s lead is probably too big even for the Mets to blow. But as the Mets stumbled a step closer to their goal of winning the division, Manager Terry Collins said they needed to play better. “We had a very substantial lead where nobody needed to be uptight,” Collins said. “We should have been quite relaxed with the lead we had, should have been going out and playing the game nice and loosely and calm. And for me, it looks like we’re tight. I don’t know why, but that’s just the perception it looks like from the bench.” David Wright, who went 2 for 4 with a solo home run at Citi Field on Tuesday to raise his batting average to .306, politely disagreed. “No, I don’t think we’re tight,” he said. “I think that there’s just been some games where we’ve been outplayed, and tonight was one of them.” Collins said he was shocked that the Mets had cooled off offensively the way they had during this homestand, with a 3-5 record. Only one game remains before they return to the road, making this the first homestand the Mets have lost all season. “We’ve got to play better,” Collins said. “We came off a tremendous road trip, came home — we’ve played great at home all year long — and all of a sudden we’ve hit a wall. We’re not swinging the bats very good. We had 10 more strikeouts tonight. We’ve got to go back and quit trying to hit homers and hit some line drives.” The Mets rookie Logan Verrett started Tuesday’s game essentially in place of Jacob deGrom, who has not pitched well recently and is expected to start Sunday’s game at Cincinnati instead. There is a sense that deGrom is feeling the cumulative effects of the 181 innings he has pitched this year, the highest total — by more than 30 innings — of his professional career. In his last five starts, opposing teams have batted .330 against him, and he has gone 1-2 with a 6.41 E.R.A. “This guy is too good a pitcher to pitch the way he’s been pitching,” Collins said before Tuesday’s game. Verrett did not do much better. Wright’s home run, his fourth, gave him a lead at 1-0, but in the fifth, Verrett gave that back and more. Jace Peterson blasted a leadoff home run to right. Michael Bourn singled with one out and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, so the Mets intentionally walked Nick Markakis. That brought the rookie Hector Olivera to the plate, and he blasted the second home run of his young career, a liner that made the score 4-1. The Mets scored a run after they loaded the bases with one out in the eighth, but Tyler Clippard surrendered two more runs in the ninth. Collins was asked why he chose to walk Markakis to pitch to Olivera in the fifth, and that gave him the opportunity to embark on a humorous, self-deprecating, profanity-tinged speech. Collins knows that when a batter homers immediately after an intentional walk, the manager is always second-guessed, even by close family members. “I’m going to get home, and my wife’s going to tell me: ‘You’re an idiot. What are you doing walking that guy?’ ” Collins said. The hypothetical criticism was especially amusing because before the game, Collins was asked about the possibility that he could be named the National League’s manager of the year. “It’s nice to be mentioned,” he said at the time, “and you know why? Because our players are playing good. That makes me a lot happier than anything else, and if we can finish this thing off, nothing can top that — with what we’ve gone through here for five years, nothing can top the fact that we’ve finally given this organization and this fan base something to cheer about.” There was not a lot to cheer about after the game, even if the Nationals did lose. Wright may be correct that the players are not tight. But some of those fans Collins mentioned, including the ones who remember the pain of 2007 and 2008, looked just a little tense as they walked out of Citi Field. Wright makes great barehanded play for out ANTHONY DICOMO, MLB.COM NEW YORK -- Before injuring his back, David Wright routinely proved that use of a glove was optional at third base. It seems that little has changed. Wright made a barehanded play to end the third inning of Tuesday night's 6-2 loss against the Braves, throwing all the way across the diamond to nail Hector Olivera at first. Drifting deep toward the third-base line to field Olivera's bouncer, Wright figured he could save some time by barehanding it and throwing off his back foot.
He has been playing in roughly three out of every four games. "The days that I am in there," Wright said, "I'm going to try to contribute and help this team get to the playoffs." Directory: documents documents -> Concept stage documents -> Concept stage documents -> The great global switch-off documents -> Nonprofit grant application documents -> The Truth about the Rwandan Genocide documents -> Annual InStructional unit plan documents -> Chaos equipment included Download 270.29 Kb. Share with your friends:
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