With the bases loaded, Jose Reyes singled to center field to a diving Mark Kotsay. The third base umpire called the obvious trap a catch, which led to Angel Pagan getting doubled up off of second base. Willie Randolph came out to argue, and amazingly, after an umpires conference, had the call overturned.
Pagan would have easily scored on the play had they let it run its course correctly, instead they let all the runners move up a base, keeping the bases loaded with only one out.
I've never seen this before, and I am even more shocked that the Mets had a call actually go their way.
After all that, Luis Castillo grounds into an RBI fielders choice and David Wright grounds out to end the inning. The Mets got the runs they would have without the botched call, so everything worked out.
In bigger news, John Maine is out of the game after only four innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. Not good. The bullpen is going to get it's work in today.
I'll pick up some live game commentary from here on out: Braves 4 -- Mets 3
Bottom of the fifth inning:
- Great inning from Joe Smith. Puts the Braves down in order, 1-2-3, on seven pitches. Smith has been amazing lately, just like last year. Let's hope it doesn't end in him getting sent down mid-season.
- Tim Hudson seems shaken after that last inning. He threw three balls to Beltran before giving up a single to center field.
- Carlos Delgado looks lost at the plate as he strikes out swinging. He's missing balls he used to be able to drive. As much as it pains me to say, I think Delgado needs to give up swinging for the long ball, and try to go the other way more like Shawn Green started to do at the end of last year.
- Ryan Church literally cues one off the end of his bat. Beltran moves to second on the groundball.
- Ken Rosenthal is a terrible TV guy. That last piece on Pagan would have been very nice and touching had it not been read by Rosenthal. This entire FOX broadcast seems so phony and boring.
- I guess I was wrong about Hudson, as he got Pagan to ground out to end the inning without any damage. Lead off runner leads to nothing for the Mets. Very typical.
- Old friend Ruben Gotay is pinch-hitting for the Braves right now. Hudson leaves the game leading 4-3. Smith is still in for the Mets. And Gotay nearly takes the head off Smith's head as he singles up the middle.
- Yunel Escobar gives himself up, moving Gotay to second. Smith's day is done. Scott Schoeneweis is in the game.
- Just as I predicted, Gotay comes back and bites the Mets in the butt. Kotsay singles him home and makes a baserunning blunder, getting thrown out at second. 5-3 Braves.
- Chipper Jones pops out in foul territory. Inning over.
- Brian Schneider singles up the middle to start the inning against Peter Moylan.
- Endy Chavez is pinch hitting. Martin Prado makes his second blunder of the day. Chavez scorched a ball to Prado, who boots it. First and second, nobody out.
- Reyes attempts a bunt, who hits the ball out of the box. Thankfully, it was a foul ball otherwise he would have been out. And he does it again, foul ball again.
- Castillo advances the runners with a ground ball to the right side.
- Wright promptly grounds out to end the inning. Another typical Mets inning, as they put the first two on base and fail to score. Wright may have one more shot at extending his 20-game hitting streak.
- Jorge Sosa is in for the Mets. On his second pitch of the inning, it looks like Sosa hurt himself as he almost went down. Hopefully it's just a slippery mound and Sosa is alright. We're waiting on the groundscrew right now. Sosa is staying in the game, so I guess he's alright.
- Rosenthal has officially lost his mind. No offense to Braves fans, but he has the Braves winning the World Series. What a nutjob. Yet I still cite his stories. What does that say about me? FOX has lost his mind. They're theorizing if the Phillies had gone out and traded for Sandy Koufax after their historic collapse. Why?
- Sosa strikes out Mark Teixiera on a pitch up high. Nice pitch.
- Brian McCann doubles into the gap.
- Jeff Francoeur singles to Pagan in left. McCann moves up to third. How sweet would a double play be right now?
- Sosa makes Matt Diaz look silly with three straight sliders. Diaz wasn't even close on any of those swings. Mets staff, take note of that.
- Sosa quickly goes 3-0 on Prado. And walks him on four pitches. Rick Peterson is out to talk to Sosa.
- Tim McCarver's new book: The best fire kindling available in stores.
- Bases loaded for Sosa never lead to good things for Sosa last year. Lots of grand slams... It's 3-1 on Kelly Johnson. Johnson fouls off what would have been ball four. Full count. And look at that...a grand slam for Kelly Johnson. I am not surprised. 9-3 Braves.
- Why in the world is Jorge Sosa still in this game? He induces a fly ball to Church in right. There was NO reason Sosa should have still been in the game with the bases loaded. Does Randolph not remember last year at all??
- Another old friend, Royce Ring, is in the game for the Braves. Beltran doubles into the left field gap and easily coasts into second with a double. This would be a whole lot more relevant if Sosa hadn't just given up a grand slam and let the Braves go up by six.
- Delgado doubles down the right field line, scoring Beltran. 9-4 Braves. Good pitch from Ring and Delgado just went down and got it. Good stuff.
- Church facing a lefty, this is always fun. Pretty good AB from Church. He's hanging in there. Church grounds out to first, moving Delgado to third.
- Pagan hits a sac-fly, plating Delgado. 9-5 Braves. It would be tied if not for Sosa and his penchant for grand slams.
- Schneider grounds out to second. One more turn at bat for the Mets.
- Nelson Figueroa is in the game.
- Kotsay grounds out to Castillo. One away.
- Jones grounds out to first, who bobbles the ball but still gets it to Figueroa, who was covering.
- Teixiera singles over the head of Delgado. On base for the fourth time today.
- McCann is putting in a lengthy AB against Figueroa. McCann works out a walk. First and second, two away.
- Francoeur knocks one into center and under the diving glove of Beltran. Two runs score. 11-5 Braves.
- Diaz flies out to end the inning.
- Marlon Anderson is pinch hitting for Figueroa. Another lengthy at bat as the count goes 3-2 and pitches are being fouled off left and right. Hits one right to Francoeur in right. One away.
- Reyes looks goofy and strikes out on a pitch very low and away. That's just bad.
- Castillo floats one to Escobar at second, ending the game.