Tagged: Atlanta Braves
Former Met John Gant makes Braves roster.
Former New York Mets prospect John Gant has been informed he has made the Atlanta Braves Opening Day roster. The 23-year old right hander is expected to carve out a role in the Braves bullpen after having an eye-opening spring. Gant was acquired from the Mets along with right-handed pitcher Rob Whalen, last July for infielder’s Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson.
Gant is currently ranked as the Braves 22nd best prospect according to MLB.com and held a 3.18 ERA in 11.1 innings pitched this spring. The righty only walked two while striking out ten, and held opponents to a .233 average.
Final: Mets 3 – Braves 3 (10 innings)
The Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Braves played to a 3-3 tie this afternoon at Disney. For a full boxscore recap follow the link below…
Game Notes:
- Jacob deGrom pitched 6.2 innings and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits. He also struck out 5 batters and only issued 1 walk.
- Erik Goeddel (pictured) made his second appearance of the spring and pitched a scoreless inning allowing 1 hit and 1 walk. He also struck out a batter.
- Juan Lagares was 1-4 with an RBI.
- Matt Reynolds was 2-2 with a double.
- Wilmer Flores was 1-4 with 3 strikeouts.
- Former Mets reliever Carlos Torres was charged with the blown save this afternoon for the Braves in the 9th.
- The Mets are now 0-7-2 in their last 9 games.
Jacob deGrom looked great this afternoon on the mound, as he made fairly easy work of the Braves hitters for much of the afternoon. His velocity was still hovering between the 91-93 mph range, but he stated after the game he’s still building his arm strength back up, after taking it easy in the offseason. Either way it isn’t much of an issue at this point as he is still getting hitters out, and he has shown no concern about the velocity dip. The Mets sent many of their reserves on this trip and the Braves rolled out many of their starters this afternoon. I’m still not buying the win-loss spring training record despite many people pointing out the Nationals are 16-4-2 this spring. The game’s begin to count next Sunday night for the Mets, and I believe this upcoming week the team will have a different level of focus as Spring Training wraps up.
- The Mets return to Tradition Field for an Easter Sunday afternoon game against the Washington Nationals. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 pm et and the game can be seen on WPIX or heard on WOR 710 AM.
- The Mets will send Steven Matz to the mound to face Nationals righty Yusmeiro Petit. Asdrubal Cabrera is expected to make his return to the Mets lineup tommrrow afternoon as well.
A Deeper Look into Mets Killers…
There are certain players that I have not grown fond of the Mets facing over the past several seasons, and I tend to call them Mets killers. These individual players are always having success against the Mets no matter how their individual season is going. What is even more frustrating is for the life of me I can’t figure out ways to get them out sometimes or I know the inevitable is about to happen in a high leverage situation. I listed some notable Mets killers on the season schedule this season that the Mets will be facing. I have provided stats for each player against the Mets and how those statistics translate to other teams in the league. To qualify for the list each player has to have played in at least 20 games against the Mets, and some teams have multiple players included on the list. Pictured is the all-time Met killer Chipper Jones, because nobody would be more appropriate to headline this article, right? Continue reading
Final Braves 5- Mets-4
Matt Harvey #33 of the New York Mets throws a pitch during the first inning of a spring training game against the Atlanta Braves at Champion Stadium on March 8, 2016 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Photo Credit: Getty Images / Stacy Revere
The Atlanta Braves rallied and defeated the New York Mets by the final score of 5-4 at Champion Stadium this afternoon. For a full box score recap follow the link below…
Game Notes:
- In Matt Harvey’s spring debut, he threw 3 innings allowing 3 hits on 1 ER with 2 walks and 1 K.
- In Juan Lagares return to the Mets lineup, he went 2-2 with 2 RBI’s.
- Wilmer Flores had a day at the plate going 3-3 with an RBI. He also committed an error in the field.
- Michael Conforto was 1-2 with a run scored.
- Travis Taijeron was 1-2 with a strikeout. Taijeron is still hitting a scorching .429 this spring.
- Ruben Tejada had a rough day at the plate going 0-3 with 2 K’s. He is batting a lowly .100 so far this spring.
- Rafael Montero pitched a inning of relief allowing 2 hits and an ER.
Happy Harvey Day everyone! Matt’s first start on the mound was good not great. Harvey breezed through the first inning with only 7 pitches thrown, and then found himself in a jam due to a Flores throwing error in the second. Harvey escaped the second inning jam with a 4-6-3 double play. He was soon in another jam, after loading the bases with a pair of singles and a walk, with one out in the third. Nick Markakis drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and a nice throw by Roger Bernadina nailed the runner advancing to third to get out of the inning. Harvey’s velocity constantly sat around 95-96 MPH this afternoon for his first start. A major contrast to his debut last season where he was throwing 99 MPH, which was extremely nerve wrecking for his first start back off a major operation. All in all can’t wait for Harvey Day’s to start counting in the standings, as I expect a big season out of Matt this year, especially with the further development of his nasty slider.
Lagares & Flores each had great days at the plate. It seems the Wilmer Flores chant is making its way around different Florida parks all spring as Mets fans were very enthusiastic to see him today, and he delivered when literally called upon.
Emilio Bonifacio capped off a 2-run, 9th inning rally by the Braves with an RBI single to come back, and defeat the Mets this afternoon. A known Mets killer, Bonifacio has 5 hits in 7 at-bats against the Mets this spring.
- The Mets return to Port St. Lucie to face the New York Yankees at 1:10 pm et. The game can be seen on SNY, MLB Network, and MLB.tv. The game can also be heard on WOR 710 AM.
- RHP Jacob deGrom will make his spring debut against Yankees RHP Ivan Nova.
Mets vs. Braves Lineups 1:05 pm ET
Mets:
1. Roger Bernadina (L) RF
2. Ruben Tejada (R) SS
3. Michael Conforto (L) LF
4. Wilmer Flores (R) 3B
5. Johnny Monell (L) C
6. Eric Campbell (R) 1B
7. Juan Lagares (R) CF
8. Marc Krauss (L) DH
9. Dilson Herrera (R) 2B
SP: Matt Harvey RHP
Braves:
1. Ender Inciarte (L) CF
2. Erick Aybar (S) SS
3. Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
4. Nick Markakis (L) RF
5. Adonis Garcia (R) 3B
6. A.J. Pierzynski (L) C
7. Nick Swisher (S) DH
8. Daniel Castro (R) 2B
9. Mallex Smith (L) LF
SP: Matt Wisler RHP
Today’s game will not be broadcast on television but can be streamed through the Braves radio network if you have an MLB.tv subscription.
Game Notes:
Today’s available pitchers for the Mets: RHP Chase Bradford, LHP Dario Alvarez, and RHP Rafael Montero.
VS BRAVES: This is the second of three scheduled meetings this spring between the Mets & Braves. This will be the first of two meetings at Champion Stadium, with the other meeting occurring March 26.
MATT HARVEY: This is Matt Harvey’s first start of the spring. Harvey produced a 13-8 record and 2.71 ERA in 29 regular-season starts in 2015. He ultimately logged 216 innings, including the postseason, the most ever by a pitcher in his first season back from Tommy John surgery.
JUAN LAGARES: is in today’s starting lineup against the Braves playing CF and hitting 7th. Lagares has been out of action for the past several days due to a dental problem. Lagares is 1-4 this spring and is hitting .250.
TRAVIS TAIJERON: is on today’s travel roster for the Mets. He is 5-12 this spring with a double, a triple, and 4 RBI’s. He has a .417/.462/.667 line in Grapefruit League action.
ROGER BERNADINA: had been dealing with a visa issue that delayed his arrival to Mets camp, is in today’s starting lineup for the Mets hitting leadoff and playing RF…Bernadina put up a .276/.383/.466 slash with 15 home runs and 20 steals in 447 plate appearances for the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate in 2015.
Final: Mets 7 – Braves 5
The Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves this afternoon by the final score of 7-5. For a full box score recap follow the link below…
- Game Notes:
- Alejandro De Aza had a productive day at the plate going 2-3 with a double, an RBI single, and a run scored. De Aza is hitting a blistering .429 this spring.
- Yoenis Cespedes, Neil Walker, Michael Conforto, and Lucas Duda each had a hit this afternoon.
- Travis Taijeron got the start in right field and went 2-4, with 2 RBI’S. He is hitting a robust .444 this spring so far.
- Sean Gilmartin pitched 3 solid innings of no run ball, allowing 4 hits and 2 strikeouts.
- Chase Bradford left too many pitches over the plate this afternoon allowing 6 hits on 4 ER, in an inning of work.
- Jim Henderson pitched a scoreless inning in relief with a 3 pitch strikeout.
- Addison Reed closed the game out with a perfect 9th.
Observing today’s game there were a few things that had stood out to me. With rumors swirling that Kevin Plawecki may begin the year in AAA due to playing time concerns, Johnny Monell has a chance to grab a job out of spring training. He made some impressive throws from behind the plate this afternoon throwing one runner out and being a missed tag away from throwing another one out. Too soon to speculate on the catching situation but with rumors in the air regarding Plawecki, Monell had a good game defensively. I was also impressed with the throws Matt Reynolds was making from the shortstop position. He is showing the coaching staff he can get it done with his glove, and if he can show some offense this spring Ruben Tejada may become expandable as rumors are starting to surround him as well. Jim Henderson also had a great 1-2-3 inning today and his fastball looks to be slowly coming back to life for him. I am very interested to see how the rest of his spring progresses as he is vying for a bullpen spot.
- The Mets host the Detroit Tigers at 1:10 pm et at Tradition Field. Bartolo Colon will make his spring debut opposite former Met Mike Pelfrey. That game will be broadcast on SNY, MLB Network, and MLB.tv. Other pitcher availability for the Mets is not known at this time.
- The Mets will send a squad to Jupiter, Florida to face the St. Louis Cardnials at 1:05 pm et. Rookie of the Year frontrunner Steven Matz will make his spring debut opposite Adam Wainwright. The game will be available on MLB.tv and WOR 710 AM. RHP Akeel Morris, RHP Hansel Robles, RHP Paul Sewald, RHP Logan Verrett, RHP Jeff Walters, and RHP Gabriel Ynoa are scheduled to take the mound following Matz.
Braves vs. Mets Lineups 1:10 pm ET
Mets
- Alejandro De Aza, CF
- Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
- Yoenis Cespedes, DH
- Lucas Duda, 1B
- Neil Walker, 2B
- Michael Conforto, LF
- Johnny Monell, C
- Travis Taijeron, RF
- Danny Muno, 3B
SP: Sean Gilmartin, LHP
Braves
- Ender Inciarte, CF
- Emilio Bonifacio, 2B
- Adonis Garcia, 3B
- Hector Olivera, LF
- Nick Swisher, 1B
- Jeff Francoeur, RF
- Jace Peterson, SS
- Rio Ruiz, DH
- Willians Astudillo, C
SP: Kyle Kendrick, RHP
Today’s game can be viewed on WPIX and MLB.TV
Game Notes:
Scheduled to pitch for the Mets this afternoon: RHP Stolmy Pimentel, RHP Addison Reed, RHP Akeel Morris, and RHP Jim Henderson
SEAN GILMARTIN was originally drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the first round, with the 28th overall selection, of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. After the 2013 season, the Braves traded Gilmartin to the Minnesota Twins for Ryan Doumit. During the 2014 Winter Meetings, the New York Mets selected Gilmartin from the Twins in the Rule 5 draft.
This is the first of three scheduled meetings this spring between the Mets & Braves. This will be the lone meeting at Tradition Field, with the other two meetings both occurring in Orlando.
Above The Mendoza 