"I was staying in attack-mode and making pitches like I did before," Gsellman said. "I was trying to pick up [Cabrera] and as a teammate I got to pick them up sometimes. After the first inning, I got it out of the way and I felt like I was cruising a little bit."
Cespedes, who had missed the past six weeks with a hamstring strain, drilled a 1-1 pitch to left-center field in the ninth inning off Luke Jackson to give the Mets much-needed breathing room.
Braves manager Brian Snitker's decision to intentionally walk Michael Conforto just ahead of Cespedes' slam was influenced by his preference to keep some of his more attractive relief options available for the nightcap.