Game of the Week: May 18: NYM @ ATL

[Commissioner Erick]

New York Mets (18-21) @ Atlanta Braves (19-21)


NYM: Ryan Beyer (2-3, 4.26)
ATL: Brandon Waddell (5-2, 3.00)


Mets 5 Key Stats


.227: New York’s team batting average, 13th in the National League.

28: Ryan Beyer’s walk total this year. Beyer had a 12.6% walk rate last year, which was a little high, but not high enough to override his tremendous stuff. This season, Beyer’s walk rate has jumped to 17.0%. Combined with a high BABIP, Beyer’s ERA has correspondingly jumped from 2.30 to 4.26 despite Beyer striking out more hitters this year than last.

.300: Mookie Betts’ batting average as he’s been the one Met who has hit. Betts is on pace for his first .300 average since leaving Boston after the 2019 season.

3.50: Andres Perez’ ERA, the lowest in the New York pen. The Mets team bullpen ERA is 5.41, 13th in the league. Dan Altavilla has a 6.14 ERA, which would be the highest of his career. Jorge Guzman has a 4.61 ERA thanks to 11 walks in 13.2 innings and a 1.76 WHIP. Tony Gonzalez has allowed six home runs in 17.1 innings, good for an 11.42 ERA, and Raheem Owasu has allowed four homers in 16.1 innings thus far in 2026. Essentially everyone is either giving up home runs at a high clip, or walking everyone, and the team is suffering for it.

.501: The OPS of New York number five hitter Anderson Franco. Franco has produced an OPS north of .751 once in his career, an underwhelming stat for a position where offense is needed. This year, Franco has just a .301 slugging mark and a .170 average. He even has a negative Zone Rating. He’s been awful for the Mets, serving as a disappointing player for a team without better options.


Braves 5 Key Stats


.377: Xander Bogaerts’ OBP this year. Though he doesn’t qualify yet, that number would be second among qualified Second Baseman in OBP. Bogaerts isn’t hitting for power yet, but the Braves have to be happy with his continued ability to get on base.

0.6: Brandon Waddell’s HR/9. Waddell isn’t striking many hitters out, and his walk rate is higher than it was last year. Despite that, Waddell remains one of the best at keeping the ball in the ballpark. He’s 9th all-time in HR/9 among pitchers with 1000 career innings.

.363: Mikey Polansky’s Slugging Percentage this year. Polansky produced 28 doubles and 27 homers in 2025. With a .291 average, that was good for a .514 Slugging mark. This year, Polansky has just three doubles and three homers, and is batting just .244. He’s been a drain on the lineup after being such a productive surprise in 2025, and is a key reason why Atlanta is under .500.

0.71: Trevor Rogers’ ERA. After winning the 2025 Reliever of the Year award, Rogers has been exceptional to start 2026 as well. He has 19 strikeouts in 12.2 innings, hasn’t issued a home runs, and has held lefties to a 1-14 average as one of the best arms in the game.

24: The number of games out of 40 played where Atlanta has faced a team that won at least 90 games last year. Tonight’s game vs the Mets begins a stretch where the Braves will face 12 games against teams that lost at least 88 games last year, with 10 of those games against teams with losing records this year.


Questions for the GMs:


For Jeff McKinney, your club has been surprisingly competitive this year despite a number of prospects not playing up to potential and a struggling offense. What do you owe your successes to?

How did Tomaz Espassandim get the nickname Cannibal?

Mike Wheeler has a number of nagging injuries, but has been effective against lefties. Will he play today?

For Aaron Dunham, will we see Raul Mondesi Jr. today or will you give him more time on rehab?

How has Juan Gestoso been for you thus far?

Steve Goode hit .193 last year. This year he’s batting .269 with 13 home runs. The power has always been there, but is average sustainable?


TRIVIA: Juan Gestoso already has 12 Stolen Bases this year. Which player has the most single-season Stolen Bases among players who were the Braves primary Third Baseman that season?

[torontogm]

Will we see Raul Mondesi Jr. today or will you give him more time on rehab?

Mondesi is actually picking up RF in rehab, but at the moment it looks like he will be released when his rehab time is up. I have a lot of depth at 2B.

How has Juan Gestoso been for you thus far?

Everything I've hoped for and more, with the exception of his defense.

Steve Goode hit .193 last year. This year he’s batting .269 with 13 home runs. The power has always been there, but is average sustainable?

Goode's BABIP this year is .310, which is not an outrageous number. However, I think we'll continue to see averages in the .240-.250 range moving forward. Sub .200 from last year was a little unlucky.

[Commissioner Erick]

Aaron correctly guessed Polansky

[Commissioner Erick]

Braves 2 - Mets 0


WP: J. Cardenas (1-0)
LP: J. Stevens (1-2)
SV: T. Rogers (9)


Jacob Stevens pitched well, but the New York Mets still lost the game, falling 2-0 to the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park. The win belongs to Jorge Cardenas in relief. His record improves to 2-0. Jacob Stevens took the loss for New York. The win makes Atlanta 20-21.

Steven Williams had a timely hit in the bottom of the sixth inning. With two out and runners on 1st and 3rd, the Atlanta catcher hit a run-scoring single. That put the Braves in front, 2-0.

"At the end of the day, it's always about your starting pitcher," said Atlanta skipper Aaron Dunham.


Questions for the GMs:


For Jeff McKinney, Jacob Stevens looked pretty good out there. What do you think of what he's been able to give your team this season?

You moved Ryan Beyer, a breakout rookie last year, to the bullpen for today's game. Beyer worked well, allowing just a single hit in 2.1 shutout innings. Why did you move him to the pen?

Sean Mendoza has roughly 900 career plate appearances, but only six career home runs. Why was he hitting third?

For Aaron Dunham, it looked bad when Brandon Waddell clutched his elbow during his at bat with Mookie Betts, and signaled to the trainer after striking him out, leaving the game. Do you have an update on his injury and how you'll have to adapt in his absence?

The Mets hit seven balls over 100 miles an hour, but six were caught, including three by Steve Goode. What do you have to say about your defense today?

Steve Williams has really struggled this year at the bat. How nice was it to see him dump a ball into Right Field to plate the run that won the game for you?


TRIVIA: Who is the only Brave to win Rookie of the Year?

[Commissioner Erick]

Aaron correctly guessed Otani