THIS IS IT

Wright, Mets outlast Braves in 14 innings for win No. 20

NEW YORK (AP)—Just a minute before midnight, time ran out on the Atlanta Braves.

In a 4-hour, 47-minute marathon that stretched through 14 innings, David Wright’s two-out double drove home Carlos Beltran with the winning run in an 8-7 victory over the Braves on Friday night.

New York stranded 19 runners, fell behind by four runs in the seventh inning and were down by a run in the 11th. And still the Mets won.

“We had it won twice,” Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said. “We gave it up twice. It was a game we should have won.”

Not according to the Mets.

“We kept scrapping and clawing,” manager Willie Randolph said. “It was a big character win for us.”

Wright had three hits and was on base six times. Jose Reyes had a career-high five hits. Cliff Floyd had a tying home run in the 11th inning after the Braves had taken the lead on a pinch homer by Wilson Betemit against closer Billy Wagner. Beltran homered early and scored the winning run late.

“The resilience, the character, the makeup of this team,” Wright said. “We are not going to roll over.”

“We are never going to give in,” Beltran said. “That’s what we did today four different times with four different players.”

Beltran had walked in the 14th and advanced on Brian McCann’s passed ball.

“He didn’t know where it was, so I gave it a shot,” Beltran said. “It was pretty close.”

Wright’s winning hit came off Jorge Sosa (0-5), who had been scheduled to start Sunday.

The hit was the third of the night for Wright, who broke out of a 1-for-19 slump with four hits Thursday night.

The win was the third straight for New York and the third straight loss for Atlanta, dropping the Braves eight games behind the Mets in the NL East. New York (20-9) is 11 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2000 season.

Betemit hit his third homer of the season leading off the 11th. It was the third home run allowed by Wagner, who gave up just six all last season.

“When he hit it, I didn’t think it was gone,” Wagner said. “Where he hit it, I was shocked.”

Floyd, locked in a slump that had dipped his average below .190, tied it against Chris Reitsma with his third homer of the season. An inning later, Reitsma got Floyd to pop up with the bases loaded.

Reyes touched off the tying four-run rally in the seventh with a single and opened the eighth with his fifth triple of the season. But the Mets could not get him home, and the rally ended with Floyd grounding out with the bases loaded

Trailing 6-2, the Mets knocked starter Kyle Davies out in the seventh. Reyes opened with his fourth single and Paul Lo Duca doubled. An error by shortstop Edgar Renteria allowed one run to score, and Carlos Delgado singled home another. Floyd’s RBI single against reliever Ken Ray made it 6-5, and Kaz Matsui delivered a tying single.

Ray escaped further damage, getting 47-year-old pinch hitter Julio Franco to hit into an inning-ending double play.

McCann drove in a pair of runs with two hits and Marcus Giles had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and scored twice for the Braves.

Brian Jordan also had two hits and scored twice on McCann’s single and double as the Braves built a 6-2 lead.

Game notes
Chipper Jones’ first-inning RBI was the 105th of his career against the Mets. ... Renteria’s fifth-inning single extended his hitting streak to 21 games, 20 this season. ... Reyes’ five hits marked the 26th time a Mets player has had five hits in a game. ... Duaner Sanchez pitched two scoreless innings, stretching his scoreless streak to 21 innings. ... Mets disabled list report: 2B Anderson Hernandez (disc) has started playing in the Gulf Coast League. RHP Brian Bannister (hamstring) has begun long toss regimen.

Braves, Braves vs Mets, General, Sports

We need a win badly.

Davies gets nod in opener at Shea
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com

Through the season’s first month, the Braves have gotten plenty of opportunities to see the team many think will detrone them in the National League East this season. But after this weekend’s three-game series at Shea Stadium, it will be a while before they’re able to directly control their place in the division standings in relation to the Mets.

“It’s nice to play them, because you can obviously pick up more games when you are playing against them,” Adam LaRoche said. “It’s just more games in our division that we need to win.”

When the Braves went to Shea Stadium two weeks ago, it was easier for them to view it as just another series. But with the front-running Mets now holding a seven-game advantage, there seems to be a greater importance to this weekend’s three-game set.

“It’s a big series,” said Kyle Davies, who will oppose Steve Trachsel in Friday’s opener. “It’s not that every other series isn’t big. But we want to go back in there and make another impression. If we can go back in there and do what we did last time, it would be great.”

During the initial trip to Shea Stadium, Davies and Hudson tossed complete games, helping the Braves claim two wins in a three-game series. But just last weekend, the Mets got some revenge taking two of three games at Turner Field.

Pedro Martinez or Tom Glavine, who have been credited with each of the three wins the Mets have recorded against the Braves this year, will not pitch in this weekend’s series. Instead, the Atlanta offense will be facing Trachsel on Friday, Victor Zambrano on Saturday and likely John Maine on Sunday.

The Braves will present a more formidable trio, sending Davies to the mound Friday, Hudson on Saturday and the recently-improved Jorge Sosa for Sunday’s series finale.

Davies and Trachsel opposed each other on Sunday afternoon and the Mets right-hander lasted just 3 2/3 innings. As for the Atlanta right-hander, his five-inning effort was good enough for a win, but not nearly as impressive as the three-hitter he tossed against the Mets on April 18.

The Mets enter the weekend having won seven of their last nine. Meanwhile, the Braves have lost two straight since beginning this current eight-game road trip with a season-best three-game winning streak.

But they aren’t allowing themselves to panic yet. They know they can change things drastically against a Mets team they won’t see again until the final week of July.

“You can’t go in there with a desperate, got-to-win [mind-set] because you end up playing scared,” LaRoche said. “I think the best thing we can do is just ride it out, have fun, go out there and play loose.”

Pitching matchup
ATL: RHP Kyle Davies (2-2, 4.70 ERA)
He’s 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in two starts against the Mets this year.

NYM: RHP Steve Trachsel (2-2, 4.73 ERA)
He’s 5-1 with a 4.54 ERA in nine career appearances against the Braves.

Player to watch
Edgar Renteria, who is in the midst of a 20-game hitting streak, has batted .432 (16-for-37) in his career against Trachsel.

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

Season Series Tied 3-3

catch up on the past games

Braves vs Mets

8 runs scored, the most since April 7th.
Francouer goes 4-5, hits a 2 run home run and drives in 5.
Renteria extends his hit streak to 16 games.
Kyle Davies gets the win. Chris Reitsma gets the save.
Francouer makes a diving catch to get the 27th out.
Braves win 8-5 to tie the season series 3 to 3 against the Mets.
They have another 3 game series against each other starting next Friday @ Shea. This time Chipper will be in the lineup. He loves Shea. Do not forget.

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

Davies entrusted with salvaging finale
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com

When Kyle Davies last faced the Mets, he provided the finest outing of his young career. The Braves will be looking for him to provide another such performance when he takes the hill for Sunday afternoon’s series finale against the front-running Mets.

While dropping the first two games of this three-game series, the Braves have fallen seven games behind the Mets in the National League East standings. They enter Sunday having lost five straight games and six of their past seven.

“We’ve just got to keep playing, do those little things and we’ll come out of the little slump we’re in,” Andruw Jones said. “We just got to keep battling.”

Davies’ three-hitter against the Mets on April 18 was the first complete game of his career. Before surrendering a seventh-inning two-run homer in Milwaukee on Monday night, it appeared he would complete his second consecutive masterful start.

The 22-year-old right-hander has allowed five earned runs in his past 19 2/3 innings. During his first two starts of the year, he surrendered nine runs, eight of which were scored in the first inning.

The Mets opted to skip Victor Zambrano in the series finale and instead throw the more effective Steve Trachsel, who has allowed just three earned runs in his past two starts, covering 12 innings. He was 0-2 with a 4.05 ERA in two starts against the Braves last year.

Pitching matchup
ATL: RHP Kyle Davies (1-2, 4.56 ERA)
The youngster has allowed just one earned run in 16 1/3 career innings against the Mets.

NYM: RHP Steve Trachsel (2-1, 3.13 ERA)
The veteran is 3-7 with a 5.47 ERA in 13 career starts at Turner Field.

Player to watch
Andruw Jones has batted .381 (24-for-63) with five homers in his career against Trachsel.

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

Mets win 1-0. Both teams pitch 5 hitters. Mets lead season series 3-2. Blah blah blah.

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

Thomson to face Glavine
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com

When Tom Glavine first began facing the Braves after signing with the Mets, he went through a miserable stretch of futility. Recently, he’s simply seen a lot of solid work against his former team go unrewarded.

Glavine will have yet another opportunity to face his former teammates when he takes the mound to face the Braves at Turner Field on Saturday night. With their win in Friday’s series opener, he and his current Mets teammates gained a six-game division lead on Atlanta.

Despite posting a 1.14 ERA in his past four starts against the Braves, Glavine has gone just 1-1 in those games. In his first nine career starts against Atlanta, the 40-year-old southpaw was 1-8 with an 8.81 ERA.

The biggest change for Glavine, who played in Atlanta from 1987-2002, has been the fact that now he does much more than simply pound hitters with changeups down and away. He’s developed a very effective curve and is now using the inside part of the plate with much more frequency.

“He had to do something a little bit different,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “He was becoming a little bit too predictable.”

The Braves, who have lost four straight and five of their past six, will counter with John Thomson, who has had his own share of bad luck lately. Despite allowing just one earned run in his first three starts, the veteran right-hander is still searching for his first win.

Pitching matchup
ATL: RHP John Thomson (0-0, 1.31 ERA)
Opponents have hit just .231 against him as a starter this year.

NYM: LHP Tom Glavine (2-2, 2.78 ERA)
Is 1-5 with a 7.22 ERA in seven career starts at Turner Field as a Met.

Player to watch
Andruw Jones has batted .333 (12-for-32) with four homers in his career against Glavine. He hit a solo homer against him on April 19.

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

Season Series 2-2

I didn’t watch any of the game nor could I follow it live via the internet because I had to work. Oh well, after all it is only April in the baseball season.

Smoltz struckout 10, Chipper hit a two run homer, Renteria returned to the lineup, and Pedro got the win.

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

Game 4 of the Season Series (Braves lead 2-1)

Smoltz to face Pedro in opener
04/26/2006 7:30 PM ET
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com

Pedro Martinez has been in the National League East for just a little more than a full season, and already he and John Smoltz have gotten to know each other real well. The two potential Hall of Fame hurlers will face each other again when the Braves and Mets begin a three-game series at Turner Field on Friday night.

The Braves will be looking to rebound from their just-completed eight-game road trip, during which they recorded just three wins. Two of those victories came against the first-place Mets, who enter this series with a five-game advantage over Atlanta.

“I think this is exactly what we need,” Marcus Giles said. “I think we need a bit of a challenge, something to maybe spark us and something to get us going. This game is all about momentum, and right now we don’t have it.”

This will be the first time Martinez and Smoltz have faced each other this season. They both split the four decisions they received in the four starts they made against each other last year.

Smoltz posted a 2.57 ERA in those four games and Martinez was just slightly better with a 1.95 ERA.

While another matchup against Martinez is certainly intriguing, Smoltz has other things on his mind.

“I’m just looking forward to pitching in some warm weather,” Smoltz said. “I’m looking forward to not having to blow on my hands anymore.”

Within the span of his first four starts, Smoltz has made three of them while pitching in less than enviable weather conditions. His only warm-weather start came in Atlanta on April 15, when he tossed a four-hit shutout against the Padres.

This will be Martinez’s second start of the season against the Braves. The veteran right-hander, who has won each of his first four starts, allowed them three earned runs in 6 2/3 innings on April 17. The effort was good enough for him to record his 200th career victory.

Martinez will be facing a little different lineup than he did last week at Shea Stadium. It will include Edgar Renteria and Chipper Jones, who both missed last week’s series against the Mets because of injury.

“It will be fun,” Jeff Francoeur said. “We’ll have everybody back Friday night against Pedro and we’ll have Smoltzie going. That’s the team we want to have out there.”

Pitching matchup
ATL: RHP John Smoltz (1-1, 4.15 ERA)
Went 3-2 with a 2.31 ERA in five starts against the Mets last year.

NYM: RHP Pedro Martinez (4-0, 3.04 ERA)
Tossed two complete games and went 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA against the Braves last year.

Player to watch
Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado has seven hits, including three homers, in 14 career at-bats against Smoltz.

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

Braves 2, Mets 1
Tim Hudson pitches a gem. It got a little close at the end. but that’s a wrap.

Season Series Braves 2-1

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

FOUR HOME RUNS AGAINST THE METS IN 3 GAMES

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

from Atlanta Braves.com
Nobody has enjoyed watching Tom Glavine over the past 20 years more than Braves manager Bobby Cox. But Cox wouldn’t be too upset if Glavine were to halt his recent success on Wednesday afternoon, when the Braves conclude their three-game series against the Mets at Shea Stadium.

A rejuvenated Glavine will oppose Tim Hudson in the rubber match between these two division rivals. In splitting the first two games of this series, the Braves have remained within four games of the first-place Mets in the National League East standings.

When Glavine signed with the Mets after the 2002 season, he struggled mightily against his former club, going 1-7 with a 9.36 ERA in his first eight starts against the Braves. But in his past four, he’s gone 1-1 with a 2.10 ERA.

“He’s looked as good as I’ve ever seen him,” said Cox of Glavine, who is 11-6 with a 2.38 ERA in his past 21 starts.

The Braves will be looking for Hudson to build off some of the success he had in lasting 6 2/3 innings against the Padres on Friday. In both of his first two starts of the season, he lasted just four innings.

Unfortunatley for Hudson, the Braves’ offense may be without Marcus Giles, Chipper Jones and Edgar Renteria. Jones and Renteria haven’t played in the first two games of the series. Giles sprained his left middle finger on Tuesday night.

“We’ve still got to play,” Andruw Jones said. “We can’t make excuses.”

Pitching matchup
ATL: RHP Tim Hudson (0-1, 9.20 ERA)
He went 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA in four starts against the Mets last year.

NYM: LHP Tom Glavine (2-0, 1.50 ERA)
The southpaw recorded 11 strikeouts in six innings against the Brewers on Friday.

Player to watch
Andruw Jones, who has four homers in his past three games, has batted .379 (11-for-29) and belted three homers in his career against Glavine.

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

ATLANTA 7, NY METS 1
Series tied 1-1

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker)—The red-hot bat of Andruw Jones cooled off the New York Mets.

Jones hit a pair of two-run homers and Kyle Davies pitched a three-hitter as the Atlanta Braves handed the Mets just their third defeat in 13 games this season, 7-1.

The Mets, who still own baseball’s best record, won the opener of the three-game series on Monday behind three-time Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez, who recorded his 200th career victory.

However, Mets starter Victor Zambrano (1-1) was no match for the Braves in this one, allowing five runs and seven hits, including three homers, in five innings.

Leading the way was Jones, who has picked the up the pace with teammate Chipper Jones on the disabled list. Andruw Jones has hit four homers in his last three games, increasing his season total to seven. The veteran outfielder recorded his 31st career multi-homer game and first since September 11, 2005 against Washington.

Davies (1-1) was the recipient of the offensive outburst, striking out six and retiring the the final 10 batters he faced en route to his first career complete game.

It marked just the second time this season an Atlanta starter recorded a victory. John Smoltz tossed a four-hitter to defeat San Diego on Saturday.

The only notable mistake for Davies was a leadoff home run to Chris Woodward in the third.

Adam LaRoche homered and drove in three runs for the Braves, who built a 5-0 lead by the third inning.

Wilson Betemit singled and Ryan Langerhans doubled in the first before both runners scored on a two-out double to left field by LaRoche.

Andruw Jones belted a two-run blast in the third to score Marcus Giles, who drew a leadoff walk. LaRoche followed with his fourth homer of the season to increase Atlanta’s lead to 5-0.

The edge grew to 7-1 in the fifth when Andruw Jones belted a two-run homer.

Four prominent players two for each team sat the game out.

The Mets played without outfielders Carlos Beltran (hamstring) and Cliff Floyd (ribs). Atlanta was without shortstop Edgar Renteria due to a strained rib cage while Chipper Jones remains sidelined with knee and ankle problems.

1stA LaRoche doubled to deep left, W Betemit and R Langerhans scored.20
3rdA Jones homered to center, M Giles scored.40
3rdA LaRoche homered to right.50
3rdC Woodward homered to left.51
5thA Jones homered to left, W Betemit scored.71

Andruw Jones 3/5 2 HR 4 RBI
Adam LaRoche 3/4 1 HR 3 RBI

Atlanta Braves
PitchersIP H RERBBSOHRPC-STERA
K Davies (W, 1-1)9.0311161106-774.82

New York Mets
3 Hits Total – Lo Duca, Nady, Woodward

PitchersIP H RERBBSOHRPC-STERA
V Zambrano (L, 1-1)5.077724383-539.00
P Feliciano3.030012045-320.00
J Julio1.000002015-812.71
Totals9.01077383143-93

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

7:10 pm EDT Tue Apr 18, 2006 Flushing, NY

Should be a good matchup again, unfortunately I will not be able to visually see the game, but I will follow it as best I can live via the Internet cause I should be around.

from atlantabraves.com
When Kyle Davies takes the mound at Shea Stadium on Wednesday night, he says he won’t be thinking about the first-inning struggles that have haunted him in his first two starts of the season.

“Worst thing I can do is think about it,” said Davies, who will oppose Victor Zambrano and the Mets in his third start of the season.

Take away the first inning and Davies has been rather impressive. Unfortunately for him, eight of the nine runs he’s surrendered this year have come during the opening frame. In both instances, he blamed being overexcited.

“I was just so anxious to get out there and throw,” Davies said. “That’s not a bad thing. But you’ve got to be able to go out there and not leave balls up.”

The Braves need Davies to provide a solid outing against New York’s potent offense. They lost Monday’s series opener and now trail the first-place Mets by five games in the National League East standings.

Zambrano won his only previous start, allowing three earned runs in five innings against the Nationals. He’ll benefit from the fact that the Braves will once again be without Edgar Renteria and Chipper Jones, who are both injured.

Pitching matchup
ATL: RHP Kyle Davies (0-1, 8.38)
Opponents are hitting .625 against him in the first inning.

NYM: RHP Victor Zambrano (1-0, 5.40)
Went 0-3, allowing six earned runs in 19 innings, during his four appearances against the Braves last year.

Player to watch
Ryan Langerhans has three hits, including two doubles, in six career at-bats against Zambrano.

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

I missed the first three innings cause I got home at Eight.. so okay hold on, here are the highlights. Pedro pitching like pedro. Jorge Sosa giving up a bomb to Nady, hmm, Langerhans dumping one in to score Giles. Sosa giving up big to Delgado, 4-2 at that point. Nady making a sick ass catch. AJ smacking one out of the freakin stadium. Awesome. Chuck James pitched good in relief. Pedro stayed in the game. Then left. AJ came up short on his next try. Wagner saved it, even after beaning a batter.

And everywhere in the world the Mets fans cheer and jeer and jump for joy. Mike Hogan thinks its the shit, and therefore it is!
Mets are 10-2. Pedro has won 200 career games. Etc Etc Etc. Good for them!

Game 1 4/17 Mets 4, Braves 3

Scoring SummaryATLNYM
1stA Jones hit sacrifice fly to right, M Giles scored, R Langerhans to second on throwing error by right fielder X Nady.10
2ndX Nady homered to left.11
3rdR Langerhans singled to left center, M Giles scored.21
3rdC Delgado homered to right center, P Lo Duca scored.23
4thX Nady singled to center, C Floyd scored.24
6thA Jones homered to left.34

Atlanta Braves
2B: M Giles (4, P Martinez); J Francoeur (1, P Martinez)
HR: A Jones (5, 6th inning off P Martinez 0 on, 0 Out)
RBI: A Jones 2 (18), R Langerhans (9)
SF: A Jones
2-out RBI: R Langerhans
BASERUNNING
SB: W Betemit (1, 2nd base off P Martinez/P Lo Duca); P Orr (1, 2nd base off D Sanchez/P Lo Duca)
FIELDING
DP: 1 (M Giles-W Betemit-A LaRoche).

Atlanta Braves
PitchersIP H RERBBSOHRPC-STERA
J Sosa4.084411260-4210.45
C James2.010002030-202.53
L Cormier2.000011028-180.84
Totals8.0944242118-80

Reyes 0/3 Wright 0/4 Lo Duca 3/4 Delgado 2/3 2 RBI, Nady 3/4 2 RBI Pedro 0/3

New York Mets
PitchersIP H RERBBSOHRPC-STERA
P Martinez6.2633281108-673.66
D Sanchez1.100002016-110.00
Totals8.06332101124-78

Season Series
Mets 1 Braves 0

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

Since this happens to be the most heated topic on this website, I plan to discuss this series in as much detail as I can. So, with that in mind, let’s prepare for Game 1 of the 18 game series.

Mets vs Braves, Game 1 Tonight
Shea Stadium, Flushing NY 7:10 PM ESPN

Here is the results from the series over the past few years
2005 Braves 13-6
2004 Braves 12-7
2003 Braves 11-8
2002 Braves 12-7
2001 Braves 10-9
2000 Braves 7-6

As you can clearly see the Braves have dominated the Mets.

Tonights Pitching Matchup
Pedro Martinez (2-0, 3.46) vs Jorge Sosa (0-2, 11.37)

So far this season

W-L NIGHT GRASS STK L10
ATL – 2nd NL East 6-7 5-3 6-7 L1 4-6
NYM - 1st NL East 9-2 4-1 9-2 W1 8-2

Mets look for 10th win behind Martinez
FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) – Trying to become the first team in the major leagues to win 10 games, the New York Mets send Pedro Martinez to the mound Monday as they open a three-game series against National League East Division rival the Atlanta Braves.

Martinez (2-0, 3.46 ERA) was sharp in his last outing, yielding just one run and one hit – a solo homer to Jose Vidro – in seven innings as the Mets defeated Washington on Wednesday, 3-1.

New York posted a 9-3 triumph in its rubber game against Milwaukee on Sunday to improve to a major league-best 9-2. Carlos Delgado and Xavier Nady each homered and drove in three runs for the Mets, who are off to their best start in franchise history.

Atlanta will counter with Jorge Sosa (0-2, 11.37), who has yet to last more than four innings this season. Sosa has thrown a total of 6 1/3 frames in two starts, yielding 10 runs and 11 hits.

The Braves had won the first two games against San Diego over the weekend before losing Sunday’s finale, 4-3.

Upcoming Games in this series.
Season Series
Series tied 0-0
Apr 17, 2006ATL (Sosa) @ NYM (Martinez) 7:10 PM ET
Apr 18, 2006ATL (Davies) @ NYM (Zambrano) 7:10 PM ET
Apr 19, 2006ATL (Hudson) @ NYM (Glavine) 1:10 PM ET
Apr 28, 2006NYM @ ATL 7:35 PM ET
Apr 29, 2006NYM @ ATL 7:05 PM ET
Apr 30, 2006NYM @ ATL 1:05 PM ET
May 5, 2006ATL @ NYM 7:10 PM ET
May 6, 2006ATL @ NYM 1:10 PM ET
May 7, 2006ATL @ NYM 1:10 PM ET
Jul 28, 2006NYM @ ATL 7:35 PM ET
Jul 29, 2006NYM @ ATL 1:20 PM ET
Jul 30, 2006NYM @ ATL 1:05 PM ET
Sep 4, 2006ATL @ NYM 7:10 PM ET
Sep 5, 2006ATL @ NYM 7:10 PM ET
Sep 6, 2006ATL @ NYM 1:10 PM ET
Sep 26, 2006NYM @ ATL 7:35 PM ET
Sep 27, 2006NYM @ ATL 7:35 PM ET
Sep 28, 2006NYM @ ATL 7:35 PM ET

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

Bring out the brooms..
The Braves has swept the Mets.
How glorious.
Boy do they suck.
Stick a fork in them. They’re done.

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

Atlanta Braves second baseman Marcus Giles avoids New York Mets’ Cliff Floyd as he turns a douple play on a Mike Piazza ground ball in the sixth inning Tuesday, May 24, 2005 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

Hey guys.. by the way… the Mets are now 12 games behind the Braves.
Sit on that!

Braves, Braves vs Mets, Sports

ATLANTA (AP)—For one game, at least, the Atlanta Braves’ new-look lineup was just as impressive as last year’s record-setting offense.

Adam LaRoche got his first two hits in the first game of his big league career during an 11-run inning, helping Atlanta beat the New York Mets 18-10 Wednesday night.

Johnny Estrada and pinch-hitter Julio Franco also had two hits in the fourth—the biggest inning for the Braves since they scored a team-record 13 runs against Houston on Sept. 20, 1972. LaRoche also got his first RBI.

“That was an amazing inning,” Franco said. “Every ball fell into place, everything they threw we hit. It was just one of those nights.”


Atlanta Braves Marcus Giles drives in a run with a long flyball as New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza looks on in the fourth inning Wednesday, April 7, 2004 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Braves, Braves vs Mets, General, Sports