|
 The veteran right-hander's scoreless streak ended, but the
42-year-old pitched well enough to earn his 14th win as the New York
Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 7-2 Thursday at Turner Field.
"He got pretty frustrated when things weren't going very good and he
was getting knocked around," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "He
started throwing between starts, which he hadn't done in a long
time. Now he's commanding it as good as I've seen him through the
years. That's why you look up and he's getting deep in the game."
Colon extended his scoreless streak to 31 innings before the Braves
scratched for a pair of runs in the seventh inning. It was the
team's longest scoreless streak since R.A. Dickey set the franchise
record of 32 2/3 innings in 2012.
Colon (14-11) threw 94 pitches in 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs
on seven hits with two strikeouts and one walk. He won his fourth
decision in a row and improved to 5-0 in his career at Turner Field.
Colon also an RBI single.
"He's a veteran guy, and I hope our young guys are watching him
because he commands his fastball on both sides of the plate, in and
out, up and down, changes speed, and he throws the ball over the
plate," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
Rookie Dario Alvarez followed Colon with 1 1/3 scoreless innings,
and Addison Reed pitched a scoreless ninth to finish the game.
The Mets (79-61) equaled their win total from 2014 and increased
their lead in the National League East to 7 1/2 games over the idle
Washington Nationals.
The New York offense was led by catcher Kevin Plawecki, who had a
double and three RBIs, and third baseman Jose Uribe, who went
3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.
"Big night for Kevin, getting us going with the big hit," Collins
said.
Atlanta pitcher Shelby Miller (5-14) lost his 13th consecutive
decision. He allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings with
five strikeouts and two walks.
Miller extended his winless streak to 21 games. It is the longest
single-season winless streak for a starter in Atlanta history, one
short of the record set by Carl Morton in 1975-76. It was the 13th
time this season that the Braves failed to score a run for Miller.
"He gave us a good opportunity," Gonzalez said. "You keep saying
good things about him. We fought back and got within two runs, and
they kept adding on against the bullpen."
The Mets broke through to score three runs in the fourth inning and
take a 3-0 lead.
Uribe rolled a single up the middle to lead off the inning and went
to second on an infield single by second baseman Kelly Johnson.
Plawecki sliced a double into the gap in right to drive in two runs,
and he scored when Colon slapped a single to center field.
The Braves had runners on base in the first three innings against
Colon but failed to score.
[to top of second column] |
The Mets added a run in the seventh inning. Reliever Ross Detwiler
walked right fielder Curtis Granderson and center fielder Yoenis
Cespedes, then left the game with a left hamstring strain. Andrew
McKirahan entered the game and allowed a one-out broken bat single
to Uribe, scoring Granderson.
Atlanta scored twice in the seventh to break Colon's streak. Left
fielder Nick Swisher led off with a single and scored on second
baseman Jace Peterson's triple. Simmons followed with an RBI single
to cut the lead to 4-2.
New York extended the margin to 5-2 with a run in the eighth.
Shortstop Wilmer Flores walked, and pinch runner Eric Young Jr. went
to second on a wild pitch, took third on Johnson's flyout to center
and scored on Plawecki's infield grounder.
The Mets iced the game with two runs in the ninth against rookie
reliever Ryan Kelly. Granderson and first baseman Lucas Duda walked,
and Uribe drove them home with a double.
NOTES: Thursday's game was delayed 2 hours, 20 minutes when an
afternoon thunderstorm blew through. ... New York pitching coach Dan
Warthen was hospitalized before the game with an accelerated
heartbeat. Manager Terry Collins said Warthen likely would return to
the team Saturday. ... Atlanta activated RHP Dan Winkler from the
60-day disabled list. Winkler underwent Tommy John surgery in July
2014 and was acquired by the Braves in the 2014 Rule 5 Draft from
Colorado. He is expected to work out of the bullpen during the last
month of the season. Once Winkler appears in a game, he will be the
60th player used by the Braves this season. ... Mets GM Sandy
Alderson said RHP Matt Harvey would skip his next start Monday
against Miami, with rookie RHP Logan Verrett starting instead.
Harvey is expected to start Sept. 20 against the New York Yankees
and make only one other regular-season start. The Mets also will
monitor the innings of rookie RHP Noah Syndergaard. ... Mets manager
Terry Collins gave a night off to 2B Daniel Murphy and C Travis
d'Arnaud, though Murphy flied out as a pinch hitter. ... New York
LHP Steven Matz (2-0, 1.89 ERA) will face Atlanta RHP Matt Wisler
(5-6, 5.81) on Friday.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
