MIKE FITZPATRICK
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Not long after the Braves blew a late lead for Mike Minor, manager Fredi Gonzalez nearly blew his top.
Ruben Tejada singled home the winning run with two outs in the 11th inning, Curtis Granderson hit a tying homer in the eighth and the New York Mets beat Atlanta 4-3 on Monday night.
Gonzalez was ejected in the bottom of the ninth for arguing a call that was overturned on replay. After much discussion, Eric Campbell was ruled safe at second on a bunt play when replays showed Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons came off the bag too soon as he took a throw and relayed to first.
“It was one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen,” Gonzalez said.
The “neighborhood play,” as it’s known, is not reviewable under instant replay rules. But after Mets manager Terry Collins came out to argue, the umpires determined it was the throw from third baseman Chris Johnson that pulled Simmons away from second base.
“We reviewed the call because, in our judgment, we felt the throw took the fielder off the bag,” crew chief Mike Everitt told a pool reporter. “That was going to be reviewable.”
Gonzalez vehemently disagreed.
“It’s bad interpretation — whoever interpreted it,” he said.
In the end, Shae Simmons pitched out of the jam for Atlanta.
“They got lucky that we didn’t lose the game there,” Gonzalez said.
Minor allowed only two hits in seven innings on a 91-degree night, an encouraging outing for the left-hander after he had a 5.21 ERA in his previous eight starts.
“I felt good about it just because I was getting weaker contact,” Minor said. “I felt like I was cruising because I had a couple of quick outs.”
He was in line for his first win since May 19 before Granderson connected off lefty Luis Avilan with two outs in the eighth to tie it at 3.
“He threw too much of a hittable pitch there,” Gonzalez said.
New York nemesis Freddie Freeman had three hits and a walk for the Braves, who won nine in a row before Sunday’s 3-1 loss to Arizona. Andrelton Simmons singled twice for his sixth straight multihit game.
Juan Lagares doubled off Anthony Varvaro (3-2) with one out in the 11th, and Lucas Duda was intentionally walked before Lagares went to third on d’Arnaud’s long fly to center. Tejada lined the next pitch up the middle.
“It was supposed to be below the zone,” Varvaro said. “Just didn’t get down quick enough.”
David Wright homered early, Travis d’Arnaud had an RBI double and Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched seven shutout innings for the Mets. They took the opener of a four-game series after losing all three to the NL East leaders at Turner Field last week.
Carlos Torres (4-4) pitched two scoreless innings for the win. He has a bruised right hand after deflecting a line drive in the 11th, but X-rays were negative, the Mets said.
“They just kept battling. They didn’t have a ton of hits, but they had some big hits,” Johnson said. “It was a hard-fought game.”
Matsuzaka was lifted after 100 pitches, a move that backfired on Collins when Atlanta rallied for three runs with two outs in the eighth.
Freeman doubled off Vic Black with one out and scored on Josh Edgin’s wild pitch. Johnson hit an RBI double off the top of the center-field fence against closer Jenrry Mejia to tie it 2-all. After an intentional walk to Tommy La Stella, fellow rookie Christian Bethancourt punched a go-ahead single to right.
New York’s improving bullpen had a 1.97 ERA in the previous 21 games.
“I thought we had it set up perfectly,” Collins said. “I said, ‘We can’t lose another game like this to these guys.’ So I thought it was really big late in the game.”
NOTES: It appears Braves RHP Julio Teheran won’t get to pitch in his first trip to the All-Star game. Teheran is scheduled to start Tuesday night at Citi Field and then Sunday at the Chicago Cubs, two days before the July 15 showcase in Minnesota. He will likely be replaced on the active NL roster by a fresh arm. … Teheran is 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA in four career starts against the Mets. … Atlanta C Evan Gattis (bulging thoracic disk) probably won’t be ready to come off the 15-day DL right after the All-Star break, Gonzalez said. … Freeman batted .407 with 18 RBIs in his previous 15 games against the Mets. … Mets RHP Dillon Gee (strained right lat) will be limited to 90-95 pitches when he comes off the disabled list Wednesday night, Collins said. Gee will start in place of LHP Jonathon Niese, put on the 15-day DL last weekend with a left shoulder strain.
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