The Braves accomplished at least two things on Sunday – they made Devin Williams throw 22 pitches, and they made Carlos Carrasco throw his last. Otherwise, it was just another July 5th in Braves – Mets history. (One of the nice things about the Rick Camp game is that the anniversary can be celebrated on both the 4th and the 5th of July. Warning – by reading that you may have just been required to take a drink, consult JonathanF for a ruling.) The Mets scored 5 runs off Carrasco in the top of the 9th to take a 10 – 3 lead, only for the Braves to come back with 6 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, while leaving the tying and winning runs stranded on 2nd and 3rd.

The Braves got their other 3 runs in the first. Drake Baldwin was hit by a pitch and advanced to 3rd on an Ozzie Albies double. They both scored on a one out single by Michael Harris II, erasing a 1 – 0 Mets lead. Harris went to 3rd when a pickoff throw from Nolan McLean grazed off the top of Michael’s helmet. He then scored on a single by Mauricio Dubon.

The Mets came back with 4 more runs in the 2nd off Braves starter Martin Perez and the score stayed that way until the alternately horrifying and exciting 9th. That didn’t mean that things didn’t get worse for Perez, however. Juan Soto‘s line drive off Martin’s left forearm leading off the 4th knocked him from the game, and per Mark Bowman, to the IL.

Also per Bowman, Walt Weiss did not want to use Didier Fuentes or Raisel Iglesias down by two late, so the 8th and 9th belonged to Carrasco. The 8th was relatively uneventful, and if Carrasco had ended the 9th after getting two quick outs following Tyrone Taylor‘s leadoff home run, things might have been all right. Unfortunately, a single, two walks, a double, and another single gave the Mets their final total.

Somehow Huascar Brazoban was even worse. At least Carrasco recorded 6 outs; Brazoban recorded only 1 out while allowing his 5 runs. Three straight singles, a walk, and a run cut the lead to 10 – 4, and by now I’m hoping that at least the Mets will have to use another pitcher, maybe having some positive effect on Monday’s game. Baldwin ensured that. His grand slam cut the score to 10 – 8. Exit Brazoban, enter Williams, who had his own problems. A two out double by Matt Olson and a wild pitch allowed Olson to score on a hustle infield single by Harris. Alas, that 9th run would be the final, even after another Dubon single moved Michael to 3rd, with Mauricio taking 2nd on the throw. Williams then struck out Dominic Smith to end the game.

Carrasco has had a 17-year career and clearly loves to pitch, but he hasn’t been good since 2022. I don’t know if this will be his final appearance for the Braves, but if so, I wish him all the best. Baseball is hard.

The Braves are now up 2 – 1 in the series, which concludes on Monday at 7:15 Eastern, Reynaldo Lopez and Freddy Peralta scheduled. Photo credit to the AJC.