The Atlanta Braves were able to complete a sweep over the Mets at home in dominant fashion as they defeated them 11-0.

Looking for a bounce back performance after getting bombarded in his first start in San Diego, Jason Vargas did not do any better in Citi Field. Over his 4.2 innings of work, Vargas was lit up with 11 hits, six earned runs, and three home runs. He was never able to find his groove or develop a rhythm, and it is starting to become concerning. The Mets pitching staff, which has mostly been frail through this part of the season, needed a veteran arm like Vargas in the rotation. Instead, it seems that Vargas is just a liability who throws fastballs that are as flat as a desert.

The concern continued after Vargas exited the game, as Matt Harvey came in for a relief appearance. His struggles continued as well, as he allowed five runs over a two inning stint on the mound. As usual, it seemed as if Harvey had no interest in being on the mound, and the crowd appeared to share the same feeling as he did. My Gut Reaction is that the Mets are truly going through some severe pitching struggles, and they need to solve it sooner rather than later.

On the mound for the Braves was Julio Teheran, who continued his trend of being especially dominant over the Mets. Teheran was so dominant that he held the Mets hitless through 6.2 innings. Asdrubal Cabrera broke the no hit bid up with a double. Adrian Gonzales reached on an infield hit two at bats later.

As a fan base, we were treated to another dose of Brandon Nimmo in the bottom of the ninth. Down 11-0, Nimmo battled his way to a walk, displaying the most effort of any of the Mets players today. Juan Lagares singled in the following at bat, but that would end the offensive production for the day. If there is any consolation in the fact that the Mets were shut out in two consecutive games, it may be that the last time it happened was during the 2015 Pennant season.

Besides Harvey, the bullpen functioned well today. Over 2.1 innings, Jerry Blevins and Jeurys Familia held the Braves scoreless.

After getting swept by the Braves, the Mets now fall to 17-12 on the season. Tomorrow they host the Colorado Rockies to start a three game series. At 7:10, Steven Matz will be on the mound against German Marquez.

8 comments on “Gut Reaction: Braves 11, Mets 0 5/3/18

  • Chris F

    Braves 21 runs
    Mets 2 runs

    We have a pitching issue.
    We have a hitting issue.
    We have issues.

    • Pal88

      Same old Mets….the first 12 games was too good to be true…

  • Pete In Iowa

    Those are some tidy ERA’s which Messers Vargas and Harvey are sporting.
    If this club can’t right the ship this weekend, I’m thinking its time to shake things up. Perhaps Bruce to 1B to open up a spot for Nimmo. DFA Reyes to open up a spot for Cecchini, Guilorme, Evans et. al. and DFA Harvey to open up a spot for Oswalt, Flexen, Conlan, Rhame, et. al.
    It’s time for playing time to be to be a direct function of on-field performance.

  • Pete from NJ

    A few hours ago I wrote a nice win with a strong Jason Vargas would go a long way.
    Now I feel any sort of positive performance with a loss would have gone a long way.

    Is it too early to make drastic moves: Gonzalez/Jose gone. Rosario enjoying the desert climate for a month or so. The only thing stopping the latter move of using Louis Guillorme is the catching hole being so huge at the moment.

    oh boy, talk about negative thoughts.

  • TJ

    It looks like Callaway was calm, cool, and collected in his post game comments and reaction. We all know every baseball season has ups and downs, and there will be these types of days. Now, I sure hope his comments regarding Harvey and Vargas are simply sticking to his formula for quality leadership.

    Neither should see meaningful action in MLB games until they show a bit of consistent quality in non-meaningful action. Additionally, regarding Mr. Harvey, Callaway continues to speak of him as a longer term project, which makes no sense. I am not for simply cutting him, at worst, I would deal him to a far off team and eat the money if necessary, when the time comes. However, the time to cut bait is rapidly approaching, both for 2018 and beyond. If they need a starter, or meaningful reliever, why would they waste innings on him instead of an Oswalt, Flexen, or several bullpen options?

    The 2018 team is not looking good, and while there is still time to turn it around, it is simply unacceptable to continue with veterans that have zero chance of being with the club beyond this season while youngsters do get a chance or accrue more experience. Collins was killed for this approach.

  • Chris F

    Hello, this is the mayors office….

  • Metsense

    Vargas continues to be atrocious. Harvey is now the last man on the pitching staff.
    Totally unexpected that the Braves would sweep with Syndergaard and deDrom pitching the first two games in the series. It was an embarrassment .

  • TexasGusCC

    I wish to offer my regrets to those people that wasted part of their day to care about a team that doesn’t seem to take things too seriously. They tell you it’s a long season, but early on when they showed urgency, they won 11 of 12! Nice! No, they tell us that it’s a marathon and so they want to “be patient”. Waiting for? Bruce to hit .300? AGone to break .250?

    At 11CDT, when I saw the starting lineup flash on my phone, I just tuned the game out right there on the spot. Didn’t even look at the score until 1:40, when I looked out of curiousity and saw all the zeroes through six innings. I wasn’t even surprised, and didn’t look at the final result until tonight.

    Callaway talks about “accountability”. Sounds great! Where’s his??? Where is his responsibility to put the best team out there? Why isn’t Nimmo and Lagares playing? I mean, what was all the BS in December about not caring about how much players make. It just playing the best guys? When your best leadoff hitter hasn’t started since April 17th, and you’re struggling, what are you waiting for? Now he’s saying he will start Nimmo tomorrow. Congratulations Mickey. How can you hurt the feelings of one of your “leaders” to play a player that has been productive so far? Wow, what a concept. They are 6-11 in their last 17 and not scoring runs consistently, yet expect players that are performing at levels of recent years to somehow become all-stars to the point where productive players can’t play because they aren’t “leaders”.

    Is this sad, or just pathetic? Accountability, ha! Love the sound bites though.

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