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Saturday, April 29, 2006
Can Braves hold edge over Mets?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chipper Jones was up to his old tricks with a home run Friday night and the New York Mets still have a horrid past in Atlanta. Maybe things will work out after all.
History is on Atlanta’s side, and that doesn’t mean just the 14 consecutive division titles.
Jones and Turner Field have been a no-win combination for the Mets.
The Braves third baseman has a .333 average in 155 career games against the Mets and has hit 35 homers while driving in 104 runs. With the offense sputtering, the Braves need Chipper to come through again.
The Braves need the Mets’ Turner Field jinx to hold as well. Even with Friday’s 5-2 victory, the Mets are 21-51 since the ballpark opened in 1997 - 5-22 in the past three seasons - and had a six-game losing streak here.
Although the teams play another three-game series in New York next weekend, this is the crucial set. The Braves need to keep their psychological edge over the Mets.
It won’t be easy. The Braves now trail the Mets by six games in the NL East. They need to shave two games off that by the end of the weekend.
