Jason Vargas finally comes up big as Mets gain split with Braves
ATLANTA — Happy Vargas Day.
If Jason Vargas wasn’t pitching for his spot in the Mets’ rotation on Wednesday, he was at least trying to avert disaster for his team, which through a combination of Monday’s doubleheader and injury had exhausted its bullpen in recent days.
The veteran lefty rose to the occasion with his best performance in a Mets uniform, leading a 4-1 victory over the Braves at SunTrust Park.
The Mets finished with a four-game series split against the Braves and 3-5 on a road trip that began last week in Milwaukee.
With Thursday’s Mets starter, Seth Lugo, in contention for a rotation job, Vargas pitched like a man trying to avoid the bullpen. Lugo will take Noah Syndergaard’s spot in the rotation Thursday, and the Mets will potentially have a decision to make thereafter. Syndergaard, who is on the disabled list with a strained right index finger, is expected to throw a bullpen session over the weekend before the Mets decide if he is ready to rejoin the rotation.
Jeurys Familia pitched a scoreless eighth inning before Robert Gsellman entered in the ninth and recorded his second save in six opportunities.
Familia got help to end the seventh, when diving Amed Rosario smothered Nick Markakis’ grounder and flipped to Asdrubal Cabrera, who barehanded the toss to start an inning-ending double play.
Adrian Gonzalez’s run-scoring single in the eighth — his second RBI in the game — gave the Mets breathing room after Johan Camargo had blasted a solo homer the previous inning that sliced the Mets’ lead to 2-1. In the ninth, Brandon Nimmo slammed an RBI double that gave the Mets a fourth run.
Vargas was removed after five scoreless innings in which he allowed two hits and walked one. He was removed after 65 pitches and Tim Peterson, who was selected from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier in the day, entered for the sixth. Peterson, in his major league debut, allowed one run, getting the ball to Familia with a 2-1 lead.
It marked the second time this season Vargas pitched five shutout innings against an opponent. He held the Marlins to two hits on May 21 before reverting to his hittable ways on Saturday.
Nimmo blooped an RBI single in the seventh that gave the Mets a 2-0 lead after Rosario raced for a two-out triple. Rosario, who entered 8-for-24 (.333) over his previous seven games, was among the team’s best offensive performers on the road trip.
Gonzalez’s RBI double in the fourth gave the Mets their first run. Jay Bruce doubled leading off the inning and scored on Gonzalez’s ground-rule double that bounced into the right-field seats.
Charlie Culberson, who doubled with two outs in the second, was the only runner to reach scoring position against Vargas. After intentionally walking the ensuing batter, Vargas retired nine straight batters before Julio Teheran reached on Rosario’s error in the fifth. But Vargas recovered to retire Ender Inciarte and then departed before having to face the Braves a third time through the batting order.
The Mets wasted two walks against Teheran in the first inning. In the seventh, Nimmo was picked off first to end the inning.
Teheran lasted seven innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts and three walks.