| Graham Flashner. 31st July, 2006 - 11:04 am
 The new sheriff in the National League East brought out the whooping stick this weekend, and the old guard was just about run out of town.
After a decade of indignities visited upon by them by the always-superior Atlanta Braves, the Mets put the hurt on their tormentors. Sweet revenge came in a barrage of hits, home runs, and ace relief pitching, as the Mets swept a series at Turner Field for the first time in 21 years, and virtually ended any outside prayers Atlanta had of winning the NL East.
The Braves came into the series with high hopes. After a miserable 6-21 June, they’d won 14 of 21 to push themselves back into the wild-card race. Though they stood 12 games behind the Mets when the series began, they knew that a sweep would have the Mets looking over their shoulders, wondering if they would have enough to hold off a confident Braves team in the months they usually own – August and September.
Instead, it was the Mets who delivered the knockout blow, outscoring the Braves 27-13, out-homering them 7-0, and amassing 21 runs and 24 hits off starting pitchers Horacio Ramirez, Tim Hudson, and Chuck James, none of whom looked remotely capable of helping the Braves vault over the 10 teams standing between them and the wild-card leading Reds.
Carlos Beltran destroyed the Braves by himself, hitting four home runs and knocking in ten runs, for a season total of 8/18 against the Braves this season. Paul Lo Duca had four hits on Saturday; Carlos Delgado had four hits Sunday, including his 12th career home run against Atlanta.
When the dust had settled, the Mets were a season-high 22 games over .500, and the Braves were in third place, a distant 15 games behind. After nearly getting swept by the lowly Chicago Cubs, the Mets roared back in perhaps their defining series of the season, showing why they are the best team in the National League, and one of the best road teams (33-20) in all of baseball.
It was a dream series for Mets fans, but it didn’t start out that way. Pedro Martinez returned from the disabled list to kick off the series, in what the Mets hoped would be a statement game that would send an early message. But it was the Braves who made a statement, cuffing Pedro for four quick first-inning runs to wipe out the Mets’ 2-0 lead.
Had the Braves kept it up, had they sent Martinez to an early shower, they would’ve been in the Mets heads and could’ve built on the momentum. Pedro, however, had his own answer for the Braves: a leadoff double that sparked a game-tying rally in the second inning.
After that, it was lights out for the Braves. Pedro, who threw 38 pitches in the first two innings, threw 39 over the next four, retiring 16 of 18 hitters before turning the game over to the bullpen.
The Braves never led in the series again. Emboldened by the return of their ace, the Mets never looked back, ending all suspense over a miracle Braves comeback.
For this season at least, the new sheriff is here to stay. |
