Okay, so it was only close for a little while, but the Braves did use two squeeze plays to plate runs. The Mets fill-in for the fill-in starting pitcher turned Lima-time into a blonde ambition afternoon. Jose Lima, sporting some kinky blond dyed hair, couldn't hold off the Braves for long. It was the Mets next pitcher, Bartolome Fortunato, who picked up the win in relief yesterday, but was not as fortunate today. He took the brunt of the Braves onslaught getting touched up for eight runs in just 1.1 innings.
It was a good day for the Braves bats, and for starting pitcher John Smoltz. Smoltz went six innings, striking out eight while only walking two and allowing one run on three hits. He did hit .188 hitter Cliff Floyd twice on the day, both unintentionally, though the Mets seemingly retaliated by hitting Renteria. Perhaps it is a good thing that we don't see these Mets again for a couple months.
Jeff Fancoeur and Brian McCann were the hitting stars on the day, going three for five and three for four respectively. Francoeur was a double shy of the cycle, and delivered the knockout punch to the Mets with a three-run homerun in the sixth. He has now hit safely in six straight games, and has seen his average climb from .208 at the beginning of May to a modestly respectable .231 at the end of play today. Brian McCann has raised his average 100 points from .243 on the ides of April to its current .345 after two singles and a double on Sunday. Edgar Renteria extended his hitting streak to 22 games with a couple of hits.
The Braves are off tomorrow before beginning a three game series with the last place Marlins in Florida. Below are the probable starting pitchers for the series:
John Thompson (0-2) vs. Brian Moehler (0-3) on Tuesday
Kyle Davies (2-2) vs. Josh Johnson (2-2) on Wednesday
Tim Hudson (2-3) vs. Sergio Mitre (1-4) on Thursday
Atlanta 13, N.Y. Mets 3 at Shea Stadium
Atlanta Record: (13-18)
N.Y. Mets Record (21-10)
Winning pitcher - John Smoltz (2-2)
Losing pitcher - Jose Lima (0-1)