ANOTHER HAPPY RETURN
LUGO LATEST TO SHINE OFF DL
ATLANTA — Isn’t this what it was supposed to look like for the Mets in 2017?
Seth Lugo’s return Sunday mirrored Steven Matz’s the previous night, adding a sudden injection of optimism the Mets can become the starting pitching juggernaut that was expected this season.
“It’s a huge lift, tremendous lift to a club to have those two guys come back and really give us a shot in the arm with the pitching,” manager Terry Collins said after Lugo’s seven strong innings carried the Mets to their third straight victory, 2-1 over the Braves at SunTrust Park.
The Mets (28-33) still have a deep hole from which to emerge, especially with the Cubs and Nationals headed to Citi Field for seven games beginning Monday, but at least are trending upward, following a 4-2 road trip in which Yoenis Cespedes, Matz and Lugo returned.
Matz allowed one run over seven innings Saturday in his first start of the season and Lugo matched that performance. In the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader Robert Gsellman provided the Mets with 6 2/3 shutout innings.
“Taking three out of four on the road is huge,” Lugo said. “I think that is going to give us some momentum going home playing a couple of good teams.”
The right-hander Lugo, who was placed on the disabled list at the end of spring training with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, gave the first indication he can be counted on to fortify an experimental six-man rotation the Mets are expected to employ at least through June 26.
“Losing all those guys, it was a big hit,” catcher Rene Rivera said, referring to Lugo, Matz and Noah Syndergaard (who remains out indefinitely with a partially torn lat). “And now we’ve got two of the guys back and the rotation strong.”
Though Lugo was rolling, the Mets had trouble building on their 2-1 lead. In the sixth, Asdrubal Cabrera hit into a double play after Neil Walker’s leadoff single, and in the seventh Jose Reyes was thrown out attempting to steal third after he had singled and swiped second.
But the Mets’ pitching held, with Jerry Blevins and Addison Reed combining for two innings of perfect relief.
“I thought our pitching was starting to round into shape about a week ago,” Collins said. “And right now with those two guys added to our rotation, even though we’re at a six-man this week, I think we’re going to see what was expected.”
Braves lefty Jaime Garcia allowed two earned runs over seven innings on seven hits with nine strikeouts and two walks. The loss was Garcia’s fifth straight against the Mets, dating to May 21, 2015 while he still pitched for the Cardinals.
Lugo escaped the fifth ahead with help from Cabrera, whose sliding stop on Matt Adams’ grounder became a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Adams was originally ruled safe at first base, with a run scoring, but the Mets challenged the call, which was overturned on replay.
“The double-play pitch was actually supposed to be up and I just got lucky and he hit into the ground,” Lugo said.
Juan Lagares’ infield single in the third produced a run that gave the Mets a 2-1 lead. Michael Conforto’s double leading off the game led to the Mets scoring their first run. Lagares followed with a sacrifice bunt and Wilmer Flores’ sacrifice fly made it 1-0.
Tyler Flowers’ leadoff double was the Braves’ big hit in the second inning, when they tied it 1-1 on Dansby Swanson’s sacrifice fly.
Throughout, Lugo relied heavily on his changeup, relegating his usually sharp curveball to secondary status.
“The changeup was the best it has been in awhile,” Lugo said. “It was a good pitch and working best for me, so I stuck with that.”