For now, Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker looks like a genius.
We all assumed, thanks to Yahoo! Sports, early Monday, that Shenendehowa grad Ian Anderson would pitch opposite 2-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom in game 1 of Monday's doubleheader at Citi Field. Instead, Snitker decided to send out rookie Kyle Muller as a sort of sacrificial lamb, denying fans what would've been a marquee matchup that could still happen later this season.
The Mets won game 1, 4-2. DeGrom went 5 innings of shutout ball. Ozzie Albies tagged Seth Lugo for a 2 run homer in the 6th for the final tally.
Anderson got the nod in the nightcap, matched against Jerad Eickoff, who was recalled from Syracuse on Sunday. Eickoff hadn't pitched in the majors since he was with Philadelphia in 2019. Eickoff escaped trouble in the first, and went four innings of shutout ball. With the injury curse having stricken Citi Field anew, the Mets will be happy they have another healthy arm in the rotation.
The difference in this game was Atlanta's all-world right fielder, Ronald Acuna, Jr., who first made an impact on defense, throwing out New York's Pete Alonso trying to go from first to third on a base hit by Dominic Smith in the 2nd inning. In the 5th, with Eickoff gone, replaced by Miguel Castro, Acuna hit his 20th homer of the season. Anderson and the Braves bullpen made it stand up, and the Braves gained a split of a doubleheader for the second straight night, and for that second straight night, the nightcap final was 1-0, courtesy of Acuna.
Anderson went 5 1/3 in gaining his first career win over the Mets, giving up just three hits while fanning five and walking one.
Enjoy this MLB highlight reel:
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