In the season’s first meeting against the defending champion Braves, it was a former Mets catcher who tormented his original team of seven years.
Travis d’Arnaud posted a three-hit night at the plate and collected three RBI, helping to bury the Mets in a 5-2 loss to the Braves in the series opener on Monday at Citi Field. D’Arnaud, who was released by the Mets on May 3, 2019 and won a World Series ring with the Braves in 2021, is hitting .469 in nine games against the Amazin’s since they let the catcher walk away three years ago.
Both Chris Bassitt and reliever Trevor May struggled to contain d’Arnaud’s hot bat in the Mets’ eighth loss of the season. The Mets (16-8) were also without their manager Buck Showalter, who was suspended for the game as a result of Mets reliever Yoan Lopez throwing at Kyle Schwarber on Sunday.
The Mets offense, meanwhile, collected just five hits on the night after their 15-hit performance against the Phillies in Sunday’s win. Left-hander Max Fried had plenty to do with New York’s lack of results at the plate. The southpaw allowed a home run to Mark Canha in the third, but was otherwise terrific across six innings and 90 pitches.
Monday was Bassitt’s first-career outing against the Braves as the former Oakland A’s right-hander continues getting his first looks at National League teams. Bassitt was solid — allowing three earned runs on six hits and striking out eight across seven innings and 95 pitches — but he ran into some unlucky outcomes in his fifth start as a Met, which slightly increased his season ERA from 2.25 to 2.61.
Bassitt’s 93 mph sinker to Dansby Swanson dotted the bottom of the zone and should’ve been the final out of the fifth inning, but home plate umpire Chad Fairchild called it a ball, allowing the at-bat to continue. Bassitt wound up walking Swanson and appeared a little rattled by the outcome of the at-bat. He hit Ronald Acuna Jr. with a pitch before escaping the runners-on jam by inducing a lineout to Matt Olson.
When the inning was over and Bassitt walked off the mound, Fairchild appeared to tap his chest and say “my bad” to Bassitt about the missed strike three call.
Even though Bassitt was able to escape the fifth inning unscathed, Fairchild’s missed call changed the right-hander’s outing. In the sixth inning, instead of facing the top of the order, Bassitt opened the frame by allowing a single to Austin Riley.
Bassitt allowed four of his five batters to reach base in the sixth, the damage coming on some well-placed soft contact hits through the shift and in the gap in shallow right field. Bassitt was able to retire the side in the seventh, but Fairchild’s mistake caused the Mets pitcher to throw eight more pitches and face at least two more batters than he otherwise would’ve.
