Bad uniforms, great baseball: That's the TL;DR of Game 1 in this weekend's Braves-Mets series.
A more complete review:
The NL East rivals threw it back about two decades for 14 innings Friday night, back to when Atlanta was winning the division every year and the Mets were scrapping to grab a wild card. Heck, the Mets' Players' Weekend uniforms even had a hint of their Ice Cream Man garb of 1997.
MORE: Why deGrom wore black hat with white uniform
Flushing was hyped — as it has been the past few weeks — while the Mets played a September-intensity game in late August. Jacob deGrom kept his team in it with his arm and his bat. Freddie Freeman, who has taken over from Chipper Jones as Mets Killer, drove in the Braves' first run of the night.
It was also their only run until the 14th, when Billy Hamilton, who supposedly wasn't allowed to swing a bat for the Bravos, singled home Tyler Flowers with the go-ahead run.
BILLY🐐#ChopOn pic.twitter.com/pSoWTJAIzF
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 24, 2019
“That might have been one of the best feelings of my life, except for when I had my first stolen base in the major leagues,” Hamilton told reporters, per MLB.com.
After an uneventful bottom of the 14th, historical accuracy was achieved: Braves 2, Mets 1.
The Mets staff's National League record-tying 26 strikeouts? A footnote. DeGrom making history by homering and fanning 13 or more in the same game for the second time this year? Mostly forgotten. Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. becoming a 30-30 player at 21? It'll be talked about soon enough.
Discussion, for now, shifts to the standings. Atlanta maintained its six-game lead over the Nationals, who routed the Cubs at Wrigley earlier in the day. New York failed to gain ground on those Cubs and remained two games behind in the race for the National League's second wild card.
"It’s frustrating," Mets outfielder Michael Conforto told reporters, per The Associated Press. "We had lots of opportunities, lots of extra-inning opportunities, but also throughout the regulation nine innings. We didn’t have it today at the plate like we have in the past."
Mets looking up at the Braves. Mets chasing a postseason spot. Mets dealing with another tough loss to their division rivals. Yep, just like old times.
