It was a long and strenuous affair, but Atlanta was able to pull out the second game of the series against the New York Mets on Wednesday night. The contest lasted until the 12th inning where left fielder Matt Kemp was able to produce a double to left field and bring home two Braves. It went into extras after both teams picked up a run along the way. Jim Johnson got the victory in relief, drilling three strikeouts on 28 pitches in two innings of work. As for the Mets, they simply didn't provide enough offense.
Braves answer horrific finish in season opener
It may have been tough for Atlanta to go down like they did in a nationally televised season opener, but they were able to bounce back offensively with three runs on eight hits. Their first run finally came in the seventh inning when third baseman Adonis Garcia smacked a double to send right fielder Nick Markakis in. That tied the ballgame up at 1-1.
Braves starting pitcher Bartolo Colon was excellent in his team debut. Against his former squad, he gave up just one earned run on two hits and struck out six in six innings of work. He was only out there for 80 pitches and didn't give up much considering he didn't have any players hit a ground ball.
The bullpen was also clutch by only giving up three additional hits.
No late-inning heroics for Mets
New York slumped on offense with just five hits in their second game of the season. A number of relievers made their way to the mound for the Mets, but it was Rafael Montero who picked up the loss. Outside of starter Jacob deGrom, Montero had the most relief innings (1.2 IP) and gave up two earned runs on three hits.
Similar to his opponent, deGrom had a decent outing giving up no runs and just two hits along with six strikeouts -- all in six innings.
While his starter did great things, Mets manager Terry Collins had nothing but good words to say about Colon after the game: "He knows what he's doing and that's why I said before the game, you can't try to swing at everything."
The series wraps up on Thursday night at Citi Field. First pitch for the rubber match is scheduled for 7:10 PM Eastern time.
