This is the type of game that we see so often in October. It was a great pitching matchup, and the team that made the most plays won. The Braves rallied with three runs in the bottom of the seventh to defeat Santana and the Mets.
I noticed that the Braves clubhouse and fans seemed emotionally charged by this victory. When a Santana pitch came inside on Tim Hudson while he was bunting, Hudson took a step toward the mound and seemed irritated. After getting a big double play in the eighth inning, Hudson pumped his fist and the Braves rode the momentum the rest of the way.
During the postgame, Braves player Kelly Johnson said that this was the most fun that he and a lot of the Braves had all year. Johnson, whose bat has been hot lately, led the Braves with three hits against the lefty Santana, including some aggressive and speedy base running that led to the late rally.
Throughout the series, Atlanta played loose, but aggressive baseball. The offense had a great mix of small ball, clutch hitting, and long at bats. Glavine, Campillo, Jurrjens, and Hudson all kept their team in the game, exactly what good pitchers do to win.
The Braves will need to maintain this formula of solid pitching and timely hitting if they want to take three of four from the incoming Arizona Diamondbacks, who will be looking to break out of a hitting funk after getting swept by the NL East leading Marlins.
Keep an eye on Jeff Francoeur, who started taking some better cuts after getting benched in the second game of the series. Teixeira has seemingly kicked out of his slump, and he will need more solid hitting to protect Chipper.
The Mets situation seems to be somewhat desperate now. They need to win their next series against the Rockies, and many are speculating that Randolph will be gone if this does not occur.
The Mets need one of their players, it will probably have to be a pitcher, to go out and have an excellent performance in Denver. The Mets need the good Oliver Perez—not the wild Oliver Perez—to shut down the Rockies.
A negative that occurred in nearly every game of this series for the Mets was their defense. Miscues by the fielders erased the positives that the Mets were beginning to make on the mound and at the plate.
In the last two games, the Mets seemed poised to break out of this apparent slump. They will have to ignore the issues off the field and focus on picking up a victory.
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