Vargas helps Mets salvage split at Atlanta
New York right-hander Jason Vargas, working on three days' rest, pitched five scoreless innings and set the pace for the Mets' 4-1 road win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday at SunTrust Park.
Vargas (2-3) entered the game with a 10.62 ERA, but he limited the National League's top offensive team to two hits and one walk before turning the game over to the bullpen. It was a significant improvement from his previous start against the Braves on May 3, when he gave up 11 hits and six runs in 4 2/3 innings.
The New York bullpen did its part to nail down the win. Tim Peterson made his major league debut with two innings of one-run ball. Jeurys Familia worked a scoreless eighth and Robert Gsellman pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his second save.
The win gave the Mets a split of the four-game series. Atlanta leads the season series 7-3.
The New York attack was led by Adrian Gonzalez and Brandon Nimmo, who each went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Amed Rosario added two hits and two runs.
Atlanta starter Julio Teheran (4-3) put up another strong effort against the Mets. The right-hander gave up two runs on five hits and three walks over seven innings. He struck out three.
The Mets broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Gonzalez hit a ground-rule double to right, driving in Jay Bruce, who had doubled. That ended Teheran's 22-inning scoreless streak against the Mets.
New York added a run in the seventh with a two-out rally. Rosario tripled and Nimmo brought him home with a single to center field.
Atlanta got a run in the bottom of seventh, cutting the deficit to 2-1 when Johan Camargo hit a line-drive homer to right field, his fourth. The home run landed in the same vicinity that Camargo's game-winning shot ended up on Tuesday night.
New York got an insurance run in the eighth inning against reliever Shane Carle. Gonzalez delivered a bases-loaded single to score a run. The Braves got out of the mess when reliever Sam Freeman got Luis Guillorme to ground into a double play.
Nimmo's ninth-inning double off Miguel Socolovich plated Rosario with the game's final run.
Freddie Freeman had two of the Braves' five hits.
--Field Level Media