The Alternate Universe: Braves at Mets 5-1-20

MLB: Game One-Atlanta Braves at New York Mets

We’re all depressed about what’s going on in the world regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, and baseball has become collateral damage. We all need to escape, and now you can read this blog in the alternate: the one where global pandemics were a myth and baseball was around no matter what. We’re imagining the 2020 Mets season as if everything was normal. Enjoy these works of fiction.

It’s May Day, maybe in more ways than one.

  • Six games against Atlanta, three here, three there.
  • Six games against Arizona, three here, three there
  • Three games here against Cincinnati
  • Three games in St. Louis
  • Three games in Philadelphia
  • Three games here against the Dodgers.

In the middle of all this are four games at Citi Field against the Pirates. it’s going to be one hell of a month for the Mets, who will be tattered and torn when it’s all said and done. The question is: just how tattered and torn will they be?

The hope was that the stirring sweep of the Marlins would somehow carry them through to a good series against the Braves, who the Mets have played an awful lot already. But as we know, the Braves are certainly a step up in weight class from the Marlins. Michael Wacha started out well against the souped up opponent, going 14 up and 14 down to start the game. But after a walk to Dansby Swanson, Tyler Flowers took an errant fastball and deposited it over the orange line in center field for a 2-0 Braves lead.

The Mets rallied in the bottom of the fifth off Felix Hernandez as three straight singles by Wilson Ramos, Dominic Smith and Amed Rosario made it 2-1. But an attempt by Luis Rojas to go for the jugular failed, as he sent up Yoenis Cespedes in place of Wacha in hopes of a 4-2 lead. Instead, Cespedes struck out and Brandon Nimmo grounded into a rare double play to end the inning.

The Braves then rallied for three in the sixth off Robert Gsellman on a two run double by Freddie Freeman and an RBI single off Dansby Swanson to make it 5-1. Flowers then dinged up Dellin Betances for his second home run of the game to make it 7-1 in a game which seemed, in hindsight, marked by a combination of a good Braves lineup, and a heaping tablespoon of jet lag.

And April showers, which brought Tyler Flowers.

Today’s Hate List

  1. Tyler Flowers
  2. Quinton Flowers
  3. Tiger Flowers
  4. Wayland Flowers
  5. Madame
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