deGrom dazzles as Mets defeat Braves

*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*

   This weekend, we were treated with 5 heavyweight tilts in New York City. Sunday was no different. Pete Alonso drove in two runs, Jacob deGrom turned in a dazzling performance, and the New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves with a 5-2 victory on Sunday afternoon in Queens.

   With the win, the Mets reached 70 wins on the season, winning 8 of their last 10 to reach a 70-39 record. They just won 4 of 5 games against the Braves, and have resumed their comfortable lead in the standings, sitting 6 1/2 games ahead. In just his second start of the season, deGrom had a thrilling game, notching a dozen strikeouts.

   After the game, deGrom said that "Throughout this whole time, the process has been very slow, and I was trying not to do too much, but I felt good the whole time. I think I was able to take a step back and take a look at where I was mechanically, try to put myself in a better position to stay healthy."

   The Mets got themselves on the board in the 3rd inning. Alonso got the scoring started, lacing a double into left field, scoring Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo to make it 2-0 Mets. Alonso and Dan Vogelbach then came around to score on a two run double from Mark Canha, making it a 4-0 ballgame.

   Two innings later, in the 5th, Jeff McNeil scored on a wild pitch, upping the Mets lead to 5-0 after 5 innings of play. In the 6th inning, the Braves got on the board, courtesy of a two run home run by Dansby Swanson, making it a 5-2 score. Unfortunately for the Braves, they couldn't score again to salvage a game in the series.

   deGrom was making his second start of the season for the Mets. He had a brilliant outing, allowing two runs on one hit and one walk, racking up 12 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Joely Rodriguez came out of the bullpen and pitched the next 2 1/3 innings, with Edwin Diaz coming on to get the save, his 26th.

   Nimmo said of deGrom that "I just feel bad for whoever has to face him. He's throwing 101, 102 out there, and he's locating everything. Hats off to him for getting healthy and getting back to us. He's primed and ready to go."

   Rookie Spencer Strider started for the Braves, being charged with 4 runs on 6 hits in just 2 2/3 innings, getting the loss. Dylan Lee pitched the next 1 1/3 innings, followed by two innings from Collin McHugh, and one inning from AJ Minter and Raisel Iglesias.

   Swanson said of losing 4 of 5 to the Mets that "We obviously didn’t play well in all phases of the game. Offensively, I didn’t think we had a lot of consistent at-bats. Defensively, there were a lot of miscues, not just errors, but with free passes and giving up extra bases. The pitching was inefficient with pitch counts and stuff of that nature."

   Up next, the Mets remain at home to host the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night, with Chris Bassitt to get the start. The Braves have a day off before facing the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night, with Charlie Morton lined up to start.