Field Level Media
May 1, 2018
Mike Soroka tossed six solid innings to earn the win in his major league debut Monday night, when he and four relievers made a three-run first inning by the Atlanta Braves stand up in a 3-2 victory over the New York Mets at Citi Field.
The Braves have won three straight and five of six. The Mets have lost nine of 15 since a franchise-best 11-1 start.
Soroka, who was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett earlier Tuesday, allowed one run on six hits and no walks while striking out five.
The 20-year-old, who is the third-youngest player in the majors but only the second-youngest player on the Braves - Ronald Acuna Jr., who was recalled last week, is a little more than four months younger than Soroka - threw a first-pitch strike to 15 of the 23 batters he faced.
Shane Carle relieved Soroka but exited after just two pitches due to numbness in his right thumb and index finger. Dan Winkler and A.J. Minter combined to allow one hit over the seventh and eighth innings before Arodys Vizcaino earned his fourth save despite allowing a run in the ninth.
The Braves scored all of their runs before Soroka even took the mound. Atlanta opened the game with four straight hits off Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard, including a two-run double by Freddie Freeman and an RBI single by Nick Markakis.
The Braves' second- through seventh-place hitters - Acuna, Freeman, Markakis, Kurt Suzuk, Dansby Swanson and Ryan Flaherty - all had two hits apiece.
Yoenis Cespedes hit his seventh homer of the season in the sixth for the Mets and finished with three hits.
The Mets nearly forced extras in the ninth. Todd Frazier and Adrian Gonzalez led off with singles and advanced a base on a one-out wild pitch by Vizcaino. Frazier scored on pinch hitter Wilmer Flores' groundout before pinch hitter Jose Reyes flew out to end the game.
Syndergaard (2-1) lasted six innings, allowed the three runs on 10 hits and one walk while striking out three.
--Field Level Media