The New York Mets faltered on a Rio Ruiz walk-off single after Matt Harvey threw five scoreless against the Atlanta Braves tonight.

The New York Mets finally got what they wished for from the Dark Knight — a scoreless start — but the offense and bullpen simply couldn’t back up Matt Harvey in the end.

  • Final Score: Braves 3 (27-32), Mets 2 (25-33)
  • W: Jim Johnson (4-1)
  • L: Fernando Salas (0-2)
  • NL, Final, Box Score
  • SunTrust Park, Atlanta, GA

The Bullpen Blows It

A hard-hit, “what-should-have-been” single up the middle for Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson quickly turned into a double, as Curtis Granderson and Matt Reynolds combined to play the roped ball a little more casual than normal.

Third baseman Rio Ruiz then smacked an opposite field single of his own to left fielder Michael Conforto, but a double-clutch by the young star allowed Swanson to get home with almost no stress, leading to the Mets’ downfall.

No Win For Harvey

Although he didn’t allow a single run over five innings in Atlanta tonight, Harvey chance at his fifth win on the season was swept away when reliever Paul Sewald allowed a two-run double to Swanson in the inning following the Dark Knight’s removal.

But Harvey’s start was overall extremely solid, as he allowed just four hits and two walks, while striking out three, over his five frames against the Braves’ rather lackadaisical lineup.

The night featured an abnormal — or maybe now normal — amount of extremely high pitch counts for Harvey, leading to 104 pitches being thrown by the Mets ace.

But that inevitably led to a need to escape jams, a fact most evident when Harvey got out of a bases-loaded situation in the second.

After getting blown up by the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 2 to the tune of six earned runs over five innings, tonight’s performance is a welcome sign for Harvey and Mets fans alike.

5 Hits Won’t Make the Cut

Most of the Mets’ lineup struggled to get anything going all night, as the six Braves pitchers on the evening allowed just five hits and four walks combined.

Granderson did do well at the plate though, as the center fielder hit his sixth home run of the season and walked twice in four plate appearances on the night, even adding a stolen base to his final stat-line.

After going down 2-1 on Swanson’s two-RBI double in the sixth, Travis d’Arnaud pushed the Mets even with a solo shot off former closer Jason Motte in the following half-inning.

Jay Bruce was 2-for-4 with a single and double to his name, but he struck out in his other two at-bats. Neither Conforto nor Asdrubal Cabrera could get on-base in each of their four at-bats, leaving not much for Bruce to work with out of the three hole.

What’s Up Next For the Metropolitans

The Mets are slated to have Robert Gsellman on the mound tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. to take on a to-be-named starter for the Braves. This will be the second match of a four-game set for the Mets in Atlanta.

 NEXT: Mets' Steven Matz and Seth Lugo to Return From DL This Weekend 

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Chris Thompson
Chris recently graduated with a Journalism degree from Montclair State University. Baseball is his love and he hopes to bring back some of the old-school popularity to the game. Chris Thompson covers the NY Jets and NY Mets for Elite Sports NY. You can interact with him on Twitter @Time2Topher.

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