Mets bullpen, then Carlos Carasco, rise to challenge in doubleheader sweep of Braves

NEW YORK — Drew Smith has proven to be the great equalizer for the Mets.

While certain members of the team's bullpen have produced their fair share of stress for Mets fans early in the season, the 28-year-old reliever has been the closest to a sure thing.

Smith came on to face the top of the Braves' lineup in the seventh and eighth innings and helped shut the door on a 5-4 victory over the Braves in the first half of the doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon at Citi Field.

Then Carlos Carrasco made sure to save the bullpen in the nightcap.

After his toughest outing of the season in St. Louis, Carrasco bounced back in a major way, spinning eight scoreless innings to lift the Mets to a 3-0 win over the Braves and a doubleheader sweep in the nightcap.

Pete Alonso came through with three RBI between the two games, including a solo home run in the nightcap to lead the Mets' offense.

They are now 18-8 and can win their eighth straight series to start the year in the series finale against the Braves at 1:10 p.m. Wednesday.

Dynamite Drew

Smith has emerged as the most dependable arm for the Mets in high-leverage situations. He ran his scoreless streak to 11⅓ innings to start the season with two more strikeouts in two innings, improving his total to 15.

"On to the next one. I can’t think about too much with what’s going on in the past," Smith said. " As a reliever, you can be up every day and in the game every day. I just have to reset every time. It’s a good start, but its’ barely May. It’s a long season, so I just try to stay focused and keep going one at a time."

As he featured his fastball and slider, Smith only allowed one walk in the two innings while throwing 32 pitches in his longest outing of the season. Austin Riley threatened to boost the Braves in front on a deep fly to right field, but Starling Marte tracked it down for the final out of the seventh.

"The longer I go, the more comfortable I am mixing in all my pitches and keeping guys off-balance a little bit more," Smith said.

Smith has only given up four hits this season as his WHIP has dropped to a sterling 0.79 mark.

Adam Ottavino struck out two Braves batters in a perfect sixth, giving him five strikeouts in his last two outings, and Edwin Diaz picked up his fifth save of the season with a pair of strikeouts and working through a two-out single from Orlando Arcia.

As his slider has ratcheted up in effectiveness, Diaz has converted his last three save chances, including as part of the Mets' five-man combined no-hitter on April 29.

"His slider is wipeout,' Smith said. "It’s always been good but he’s obviously pitching with a lot of confidence as he should. He’s arguably the best reliever in the game. He’s a great guy to have at the back end."

Carrasco in the clutch

Buck Showalter knew he could rely on Carrasco to provide length in the second half of the doubleheader.

By going eight innings on Tuesday night, Carrasco ensure that the Mets only needed to use three relievers over the course of the two games.

Carrasco gave up leadoff hits in the first, second and sixth innings but was able to strand the Braves runner at third in each frame. After giving up eight earned runs in 3.2 innings against the Cardinals, Tuesday’s outing was a big-time relief for Carrasco.

He scattered six hits and two walks to work his second scoreless start of the season, chiseling his ERA back down to 3.30 from 4.50. He had a short leash in the eighth inning but worked through a one-out double to Matt Olson to get the final two outs of the frame.

"I think he was able to land a lot of pitches," Showalter said. "As a hitter, sometimes after two or three or four innings, you can box something out because they know you can’t land it. I don’t think they ever had a feel. He carried his fastball the whole game."

Seth Lugo came on and got an game-ending double-play after giving up a leadoff single to Ozzie Albies.

Strike early

In both games, the Mets struck early off the Braves' starting pitcher.

In the first game, Alonso and Eduardo Escobar each ripped RBI singles off Charlie Morton. And the Mets tacked on two more runs in the second inning, led by Alonso's RBI single into left.

In the second game, the Mets jumped out to a 2-0 lead off Kyle Wright, who opened the night with a 1.13 ERA, in the opening inning.

Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil each collected singles, setting the stage for a two-run double from Dominic Smith.

Alonso belted his fifth home run of the season with a sixth-inning solo shot that pushed the Mets ahead 3-0. Alonso’s three RBI pushed his total to 21 – tied for second-most in MLB.

Quality start popped

Through four innings in the first game, David Peterson helped the Mets jump way out in front.

But that changed with one swing of the bat by the Olson in the fifth inning. After Travis Demeritte singled and Albies reached on a bobble from Peterson, Olson ripped a first-pitch slider over the right-center field wall to get the Braves back within 5-4.

"I felt like the stuff was working," Peterson said. "One pitch led to three runs and the error obviously, but overall, felt the stuff was good. The body felt good."

It did not completely unhinge Peterson's outing. The only other earned run he gave up was a sacrifice fly from Demeritte in the second inning. With the Mets' early surge and bullpen dominance, Peterson ended up picking his first win in his fourth start to improve to 1-0.

Outside of a three-hit fifth inning, Peterson only allowed one other hit in the game. He struck out six and walked three batters. Three earned runs pushed his ERA from 0.64 to 1.89.

"It was a good team win," Peterson said. "The offense jumped on them early and were able to get some good run support. The bullpen did a fantastic job after me. Otto was great, Drew was outstanding again and Edwin’s automatic back there."

Andrew Tredinnick is the Mets beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Mets analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe today and download our app.

Email: atredinnick@gannett.com Twitter: @andrew_tred

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets vs. Atlanta Braves: Carlos Carrasco, bullpen excel