Atlanta Braves Clippings Wednesday, September 23, 2015 Braves.Com
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Atlanta Braves Clippings Wednesday, September 23, 2015 Braves.com 4-run 5th leads Braves to victory over Mets By Anthony DiComo and Mark Bowman / MLB.com | 2:16 AM ET NEW YORK -- For the first time since he began subbing for the superstars in New York's rotation, Logan Verrett was unable to make the Mets forget about Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom. Verrett gave up four runs in the fifth inning Tuesday at Citi Field, including a three-run homer to Hector Olivera, dropping the Mets to a 6-2 loss to the Braves. Combined with Washington's loss to the Orioles, which lowered the Mets' magic number to six, the defeat kept their National League East lead at 6.5 games with 11 to play. The Mets are a half-game back of the Dodgers in the race for home-field advantage in their potential NL Division Series matchup, after the D-backs defeated Los Angeles on Tuesday, 8-0. "For me, it looks like we're tight," manager Terry Collins said. "I don't know why. It's just the perception it looks like from the bench." "I don't think we're tight," third baseman David Wright said. "There's just going to be some games where we get outplayed, and tonight was one of them." Subbing for deGrom, whom the Mets pushed back in their rotation to lighten his workload, Verrett held the Braves scoreless until Jace Peterson homered to start the fifth. Five batters later, Olivera added a three-run shot to spoil Verrett's day. That made a winner out of Braves rookie Matt Wisler, who pitched into the eighth to snap a seven-game losing streak. "We aren't chasing a playoff berth, but we're here to play hard and we're not here to give games away," Olivera said through his interpreter, Alex Cotto. "We work hard and we're going to play hard. We're going to try to win every game that we can." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Rookie settles in: Wisler appeared to be in trouble when he allowed Wright's solo home run and a Daniel Murphy double before recording his second out of the night. But the poised rookie gathered himself and retired 20 of the final 25 batters he faced, while notching a career-high eight strikeouts. He walked Curtis Granderson to open the eighth, and then anxiously watched as the Mets ended up scoring just one run after loading the bases with one out. Swing and a drive: For the first time since 2013, Wright homered to the opposite field when he took Wisler deep for a solo shot to right-center in the first inning. Wright also made a nifty play when he barehanded an Olivera grounder on defense in the third, firing across the infield diamond for the out. Fifth-inning power: Peterson opened the four-run fifth with his first home run since going deep on Aug. 2-3. But the big blow came from Olivera, whose three-run shot proved decisive and served as the second homer of his young career. Statcast™ projected Olivera's home run to land 418 feet away. This marked just the second time in the past 25 games that the Braves hit two homers in an entire game. "I don't even know when the last time it was we hit two home runs in one game, let alone in one inning," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "That was a big four-spot there." SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Murphy hit the 225th and 226th doubles of his career, passing Ed Kranepool for the second-most in franchise history. Wright is the Mets' all-time leader with 381 doubles. Wisler has produced a 2.25 ERA in the four starts he's made against New York teams (the Mets and Yankees). He has compiled a 6.85 ERA in his other 13 starts this year. IT'S NOTHING PERSONAL, A.J. Michael Conforto threw out A.J. Pierzynski in the sixth inning for his sixth outfield assist in 47 games. That is tied for the NL rookie lead with Washington's Michael Taylor, who has played in 128 games. Two innings later, he made a diving catch in left field to rob Pierzynski of a hit. WHAT'S NEXT Braves: Williams Perez will take the mound when Atlanta and New York conclude their three-game series on Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Perez has allowed three earned runs or less and pitched into the sixth inning in each of his three previous starts against the Mets. Mets: Bartolo Colon, who quietly leads the Mets in wins and innings pitched, will look to continue stating his case for the playoff roster when the Mets conclude their series with the Braves. Colon is unlikely to win a rotation spot in October, but could still pitch his way into the bullpen. Wisler's strong September beneficial for Braves By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | September 22nd, 2015 NEW YORK -- When the Braves put Matt Wisler in the bullpen earlier this month, they were hoping to provide him a chance to make necessary adjustments in a less stressful role. A little more than two weeks later, it appears the brief assignment might have simply served as the wake-up call the talented rookie needed. Wisler extended his recent success as he showed poise over seven strong innings and helped the Braves claim a 6-2 win over the Mets on Tuesday night at Citi Field. After allowing a pair of extra-base hits in the first inning, the young hurler displayed some of the confidence that has been enhanced with the encouraging results he has produced since making an unexpected relief appearance on Sept. 6. "When you get in a rut, sometimes change is good," Wisler said. "It changed my mentality. Instead of being out there, just trying to grind through stuff, now it's me attacking them, instead of them attacking me. I think [going to the bullpen] definitely helped. It sent a message to me." After allowing the Nationals seven earned runs in just 1 2/3 innings on Sept. 3, Wisler found himself with a 9.49 ERA over a seven-start stretch that went back to Aug. 1. Three days later in need of pitching near the end of a four-game series against the Nationals, the Braves provided Wisler a two-inning relief assignment that he completed in scoreless fashion. Had Manny Banuelos and Mike Foltynewicz not developed ailments that ended their respective seasons, Wisler might have remained in the bullpen to make at least one more appearance. But the past couple of weeks have proven he was ready to make an immediate return to the rotation. As Wisler limited the Mets to five hits and two runs over seven-plus innings, he displayed some of that aggression that he has regained over the past few weeks. He has completed at least six innings in each of the three starts he has made since returning to the rotation and in the process, he has shown some of the tenacity that he lacked when he admittedly allowed adversity to overwhelm him in August. "The difference between August and September is probably five starts," Gonzalez said. "Between September and May of next year is another five or six starts. Here is a guy who is going to get comfortable when he keeps going out there." Wisler surrendered a David Wright solo homer and Daniel Murphy double before recording his second out on Tuesday. But he then proceeded to retire 20 of the final 25 batters he faced, while recording a career-high eight strikeouts. After walking Curtis Granderson to begin the eighth inning, he anxiously watched as Edwin Jackson allowed just one run after entering with the bases loaded and one out. Though he did not match the eight innings he produced when he made his Major League debut against the Mets on June 19, Wisler moved another step closer to proving why the Braves believe he could be a beneficial part of their rotation for many years to come. "I had the really rough August and I'm still trying to learn from that," Wisler said. "I feel better mentally out there. The last couple of outings, I'm just trying to attack hitters as best as I can to keep guys in the game. I think I'm starting to feel better about that." Olivera continues to make strides for Braves By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | 12:10 AM ET NEW YORK -- Though the Braves have conceded that they will likely not see Hector Olivera's true potential until he has a chance to experience a full Spring Training next year, they are hoping to spend the final days of this season seeing a little more of what he provided during Tuesday night's 6-2 win over the Mets at Citi Field. Shaking off some of the frustration that has developed through his first three weeks as a Major Leaguer, Olivera displayed some of the power the Braves coveted when he drilled a decisive three-run home run off Mets starting pitcher Logan Verrett. The 30-year-old Cuban's second career homer capped a four-run fifth inning and provided him a chance to get a little more comfortable in his new environment. "Every day I'm gaining more experience and more confidence," Olivera said. "This is just continuing to build for next year. I'm just taking it day-by- day.