|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What should have been a routine save turned into a nailbiting ninth Tuesday night as the New York Mets held on for a 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.
Mets starter Livan Hernandez held the Atlanta Braves to just one run in 6 1/3 innings of work, giving up seven hits and two walks while striking out a pair. He lost his no-hitter in the second inning on a Casey Kotchman double, making it 7,507 Mets games without a no-no.
The Mets jumped on the scoreboard in the third on RBI doubles by David Wright and Ramon Castro. The Braves got their first run in the seventh when pinch hitter Martin Prado doubled to left to knock in Jeff Francoeur.
Carlos Delgado singled home Jose Reyes and Daniel Murphy for a couple of insurance runs in the top of the ninth – and those runs turns out to be extremely important as Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez ran into a little trouble after retiring the first two batters in the bottom half of the inning.
After pinch hitter Kelly Johnson singled to right, K-Rod walked Clint Sammons. Rodriguez then got Omar Infante to hit a routine pop-up to first, but Delgado dropped the ball while trying to one-hand it, letting Johnson score. The next pitch, Yunel Escobar lined a single to left center to score Sammons and make it 4-3.
K-Rod finally closed the door on the game when Chipper Jones flied out out to deep right center.
It shouldn’t be this hard to get a “W.”
