Missed opportunities were the order of the day for the Braves, as the Mets took the final game of the series and avoided a sweep with a 3-2 win.
The Braves were shut down by Mets starter Dillon Gee, who allowed one run on five hits in 5.2 innings, walking two and striking out four. The lone run came in the second inning when Freddie Freeman singled home Dan Uggla following Uggla's triple.
Other than the second inning, Gee cruised for five innings. He ran out of gas at 89 pitches with two outs in the fifth, putting two on. Chris Capuano got the final out in the inning on a Chipper Jones groundout with two on.
Back in the two-hole, Jason Heyward went 2-4 with a home run and single. He provided .165 WPA from his former spot in the order. Freeman added the other RBI on a single. Eric Hinske added two walks.
The first missed opportunity came in the second inning when the Braves loaded the bases with no outs. After Matt Young popped out for the first out, Tommy Hanson came to bat and went down two strikes. Fredi Gonzalez called a squeeze bunt and Hanson missed, striking out and causing a double play to end the inning. The combined worth was -.168 WPA.
The second came in the fifth when the Braves put two on with two outs. Chipper pinch hit for Freeman and hit right-handed against the lefty Capuano, grounding out to end the inning.
The third came in the eighth when Brian McCann walked with no outs and down by one. After Dan Uggla struck out, McCann was picked off to erase the threat.
The fourth came in the ninth when Chipper walked to lead off the inning. After Alex Gonzalez bunted him to second (sigh), Matt Young grounded out to move him to third. Brooks Conrad struck out to end the game.
Hanson allowed three runs on five hits in five innings, walking two and striking out nine. His curve was on fire today, probably the best I've seen. The high strikeout total resulted in 97 pitches through five innings, 60 for strikes. Chalk it up to another good outing for Hanson, even with the three runs.
George Sherrill allowed two hits with two outs in the sixth; Cristhian Martinez finished the inning. Martinez also pitched a scoreless seventh. Eric O'Flaherty pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three.
R.A. Dickey pitched a scoreless seventh for the Mets. Jason Isringhausen allowed the homer to Heyward in the eighth. Francisco Rodriguez stranded a runner on third for the save.
Thole went 2-4 with two RBI. Ike Davis went 2-3 with a double and RBI. Reyes went 2-4 with a double and scored twice.
For more on the series, Braves fans check out Talking Chop and Mets fans check out Amazin Avenue.