Field Level Media
May 17, 2021
Catcher Tomas Nido had three hits and scored two runs to help the visiting New York Mets defeat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 and halt a three-game losing streak on Monday.
The game featured a frightening incident, when Mets right fielder Kevin Pillar was hit in the face by a 94 mph fastball from Braves reliever Jacob Webb in the seventh inning.
Pillar appeared to be struck on the bridge of his nose. He immediately went to the ground and blood was flowing freely as trainers rushed to get towels on the injury. The distraught Webb stood quietly with his glove on his head and was removed from the game.
After the game, Mets manager Luis Rojas said Pillar was undergoing a CT scan at a hospital, and Pillar tweeted, "I'm doing fine."
Nido, who entered the game hitless in his previous nine at-bats, was 3-for-4. He led off the seventh with a double and scored on James McCann's double. Nido also singled and scored on Johneshwy Fargas' bloop double in the eighth, his first major league hit.
The winning pitcher was Sean Reid-Foley (1-0), who pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Taijuan Walker. Reid-Foley did not allow a hit or a walk and struck out five. Edwin Diaz worked around a walk to pitch a scoreless ninth and earn his sixth save.
Both starting pitchers left the game with health issues. Walker departed after three innings with left side tightness. Atlanta southpaw Max Fried was removed after experiencing cramps in his left hand in the seventh inning after allowing a leadoff double.
The injury really hurt the Braves, as Webb entered the game and immediately allowed a run-scoring double to McCann. Webb then loaded the bases before hitting Pillar.
Walker pitched three scoreless innings and allowed only one hit -- that against mound opponent Fried -- with two strikeouts. He needed only 33 pitches to retire nine of the 10 batters he faced.
Fried (1-2) pitched his third straight solid outing since returning from the injury list with a hamstring strain. Fried worked six-plus innings, allowed one run, two walks and eight strikeouts.
Atlanta got its only run when Austin Riley hit his fourth homer, an opposite-field shot to right-center, in the eighth.
The Braves got slugging right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. back in the lineup and he went 0-for-4. Acuna missed three games with a left ankle injury.
--Field Level Media