Matt Wisler was masterful tonight, toying with Mets hitters like a cat toying with mice. He went 8 innings and only allowed one hit, a blooper to center field in the 5th to Asdrubal Cabrera. He struck out four and walked two. One hit by a pitch and a Freddie Freeman error accounted for the only other baserunners the Mets had. There were a couple of hard hit balls the Braves outfielders managed to track down, but Wisler appeared to be in control the whole time. He had an incredible game. His pitch count did not allow him to try to seal the shutout himself, but Arodys Vizcaino dominated the 9th and got Wisler his win, so it all worked out. Braves pitching was quite encouraging tonight.

The hitters finally managed to get their act together enough to give their pitcher a chance to win. They had baserunners all over the place for the first four innings, including having runners on second and third with no outs in the 2nd inning, but Matt Harvey managed to wiggle out of trouble without allowing any damage, and it began to feel as though the Braves would lose the game 1-0 in the 12th. I have a dream that one day I will see the Braves throw a perfect game, or at least a no hitter (I had not been introduced to baseball when Mercker threw his, so that is not a joy I have ever been able to bask in). I had the thought tonight that this will probably be the season a Braves pitcher throws 9 perfect innings, but loses the game in the 10th. The Braves offense is just that special.

Tonight, though, they came through. In the 5th Mallex Smith hit his first big league home run, thanks to instant replay. The Braves then tagged on two runs in the 6th, when A.J. Pierzynski doubled home Kelly Johnson, then came around to score on a wild pitch. With how well Wisler was pitching, those three runs looked to be an abundance of riches.

Harvey vs. Wisler, and a shutout was thrown. I was expecting to type those words, but not in the way I thought. This is why they play the games.

Braves baseball is fun when the team wins, y’all.