Instead, Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte went over the wall and robbed Cespedes of a walk-off home run.
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Their opponents, the New York Mets, are in the thick of the NL wild-card race, and veteran right fielder Jay Bruce may not have any time left to snap out of a almost two-month slump. The Mets have now dropped back-to-back games to the Braves as we go for the sweep on Wednesday.
Atlanta rookie Ryan Weber was down 2-0 after eight pitches in his second major league start this season. Cespedes hit what everyone in the stadium thought was a home run until Inciarte proved them wrong.
With two runners on in the bottom of the ninth inning, Cespedes launched a drive to deep right-center.
“Probably the best catch I’ve ever made”, he said. Freddie Freeman continues to swing a hot bat and even when he doesn’t get a hit, he’s hitting the ball hard. “It’s not just us”, Mets cleanup man Curtis Granderson said.
Over his last seven games, Herrera is 15-for-28 with two home runs, four doubles and six RBIs. On the bright side, both the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals – the two other teams fighting for the National League wild card spots – also both lost Wednesday night, as all three remain tied. Although, that might not be for long if the Dodgers beat the Giants on Wednesday night.
Afterward, a distraught Cespedes only answered one question, according to ESPN’s Adam Rubin, saying, “I knew I hit the ball well”.
“I actually came back up in the tunnel here and threw a little bit with Josh Thole trying to keep my arm loose”, Happ said. “When it looked that I had a chance, it was good timing to catch that ball”. He kissed the ball as he was jogging toward the infield to greet teammates, while Cespedes turned and walked slowly off the field.
“I think players are very vicious in this way”, the former All-Star said. Some fans in the stunned crowd still had their hands on their heads as they filed up the aisles toward the exits. Huge. I still can’t wrap my mind around that, how he did that. A team that has battled through incredible injuries, just tried to regroup after a demoralizing loss. It spotted the Mets that 3-0 lead that they couldn’t hold.
Inciarte had an RBI groundout against Familia (3-4) in the top of the ninth, sending the Braves to their fifth straight victory. And yet, baseball is baseball, and it was the Braves who completed a riotous upset and capped their three-game sweep with a come-from-behind victory against the reeling Mets. Johnson was able to get Michael Conforto to ground out for one out. Asdrubal Cabrera and Rene Rivera homered for the Mets.
Collins’ strategy worked – Eric Campbell delivered an RBI single in a three-run eighth – but the Mets’ rally fell short Tuesday night in a 5-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves. After Adonis Garcia made the second out, Collins made a curious choice.
Freeman extended his hitting streak to a career-best 25 games and has reached base safely in 41 straight for Atlanta. Snitker would like to see him make a couple of limited starts before the season ends. Foltynewicz has been sidelined since getting hit on the left calf by a line drive September 12.
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Mets: LHP Steven Matz (shoulder tightness), sidelined since August 14, possibly could start Friday night at home vs. the Phillies. Matz would likely be limited to around 50-60 pitches, with rookie RHP Gabriel Ynoa lined up to follow.
