In a setback to the Mets, the Braves’ solid bullpen displays cracks

One day after being commended for their performance during the first weekend of the regular season, particularly the sweep of the D-backs, a couple of Braves relievers were reminded of the humbling nature of their job.

After the relief corps threw 14 1/3 scoreless innings in the sweep, Chris Sale claimed the bullpen is like having eight closers. The sentiment may still be the same. However, even close friends can have bad days.

A.J. Minter and Pierce Johnson went from GOATS to goats in the Braves’ 8-7 loss to the Mets on Monday night at Truist Park. Minter allowed Brandon Nimmo’s second home run, while Johnson gave up three hits, including DJ Stewart’s go-ahead homer in New York’s three-run eighth inning.

“It is what it is,” Johnson explained. “That’s baseball, correct? That is why we play 162 of these things. It was simply one of those days.

Instead of celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hank Aaron’s 715th home run with their third comeback win in four days, the Braves bemoaned giving up an early lead. They chased longtime Atlanta pitcher Julio Teheran during a four-run third inning, and Charlie Morton held the lead until Nimmo hit a three-run blast in the fifth.

Nimmo, like the Braves’ bullpen, had an unexpectedly poor night. He came into the game with three hits from his first 29 at-bats of the season.

When Travis d’Arnaud hit a go-ahead RBI double in the sixth, it appeared like the game’s main storyline had evolved. The Mets have been plagued by the Braves catcher ever since they signed him, retained him in Spring Training, and then released him after only 25 plate appearances (10 games) in 2019.

d’Arnaud suffered many injuries and missed 2018 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He went 2 for 23 with no extra-base hits before being released. The production was not there. But why did the Mets chose to keep him if they were going to abandon him early and compel him to find a new job when the season began?

d’Arnaud spent a few days with the Dodgers before finding his footing with the Rays. Since joining the Braves prior to the 2020 season, he has hit.320 (31-for-97), with eight doubles and five home runs versus the Mets.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, d’Arnaud blasted a deep drive that Starling Marte caught on the warning track in right-center field. A hit would have easily provided Michael Harris II with the tying run.

“It was another resilient effort from the hitters,” Minter went on to say. “You’ve just got to stay in the game and these hitters will give you a chance.”

Marcell Ozuna, who hit his fifth home run in Monday’s loss, along with several of the Braves’ other hitters, received a lot of credit for the great comebacks against the D-backs. However, without the bullpen, the Braves would not have won Friday, when Spencer Strider gave five runs in four innings, or Saturday, when Max Fried threw into the fifth after surrendering five first-inning runs.

Minter pitched a scoreless inning on Saturday and came into this series opener having allowed one run and one hit in four innings this season. Paul DeJong hit a single home run. He has now allowed only two hits in five innings. The most recent hit was Nimmo’s one-out home run in the seventh.

“I thought I had my best stuff of the year so far,” remarked Minter. “I made one bad pitch and Nimmo decided to have the game of his career.”

Johnson tossed a pair of shutout innings during the D-backs series and even acted as the closer when Raisel Iglesias was unavailable on Sunday. He enters Monday having allowed one run and four hits over five innings. But he surrendered Stewart’s homer and then allowed Nimmo to conclude his career-best five-RBI night with an RBI single.

“They weren’t going to go the whole season without giving up runs,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s going to happen.”