Atlanta @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 17, 2010 ) Atlanta 6, NY Mets 4
The Atlanta Braves hope their recent success against the New York Mets outweighs their season-long road woes when the NL East rivals continue a three-game series on Saturday at Citi Field.
After dropping the first four games in the season series, the Braves have won nine of the last 12 meetings with the Mets, including a 6-4 victory in Friday's series opener. A win on Saturday would clinch their first series victory on the road since taking two of three at Chicago's Wrigley Field from Aug. 20-22, one of only two series wins away from home since the All-Star break.
The Braves need every win they can get to keep pace in the tight National League playoff race. They're three games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East, but they do lead the wild-card race by 1 1/2 games over the San Diego Padres.
Atlanta hopes veteran Tim Hudson (15-8, 2.62 ERA) can get it another valuable victory on Saturday.
After going more than a month without a loss, Hudson has dropped his last three starts, posting a 6.38 ERA during that stretch.
In a 7-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, he allowed six runs over five innings, his shortest outing since a rain delay ended his night after four innings May 27 at the Florida Marlins. The rough patch comes on the heels of a stretch of eight starts in which Hudson was 6-0 with a 1.43 ERA.
The Mets started Hudson's losing streak on Sept. 2, beating him 4-2 in Atlanta. In that one, Hudson gave up four runs - three earned - on eight hits over seven innings.
The win against Hudson was a rarity for the Mets, who were beaten by the 35-year-old right-hander in two previous meetings this season. Hudson threw seven shutout innings to beat them, 4-0, on July 10 at Citi Field and limited them to one run over six innings in a 4-1 win Aug. 2 in Atlanta.
In 19 career starts against the Mets, Hudson is 12-6 with a 3.46 ERA. He has fared well against stars Jose Reyes (15-for-57) and David Wright (12-for-52) - though Wright homered against him in their last meeting.
Hudson has struggled against Carlos Beltran, who is 25-for-67 (.373) with four homers and 16 RBIs at his expense.
The Mets send 24-year-old right-hander Dillon Gee to the mound for his third start since being called up earlier this month.
Gee (1-0, 0.69 ERA) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his major league debut Sept. 7, allowing one run on two hits over seven innings to beat the Washington Nationals. He was almost as dominant in his second start, holding the Pittsburgh Pirates to five hits over six scoreless innings, but settling for a no-decision in a 1-0 win Monday.
Gee will have to deal with another formidable rookie in outfielder Jason Heyward, whose three-run homer capped a six-run outburst in the fourth inning of Friday's win. Heyward has hit .418 with six homers and 18 RBIs in 26 games since Aug. 21, raising his average from .254 to .288 in the process.