NEW YORK — Nothing about Friday was normal for the Braves, including the game they played against the New York Mets.
The Braves mustered one hit in the first seven innings, while Tim Hudson was peppered for 11 hits without making it out of the seventh in a 6-0 loss at Citi Field. It was both a series opener and finale due to weather-related postponements of weekend games.
Chris Capuano (9-12) threw a two-hit shutout with a career-high 13 strikeouts and no walks for his third shutout, his best since coming back from a second "Tommy John" ligament-transplant elbow surgery in 2008.
“You’ve got a team that has been swinging the bats well coming in here, and he made us look like we had never seen a pitch before," said manager Fredi Gonzalez, whose Braves had won seven of eight games and 14 of 18 before Friday.
"That’s the first time I’ve seen him like that since he’s come back," said Dan Uggla, whose broken-bat single leading off the sixth inning gave the Braves their first baserunner.
Their only other was David Ross after a two-out double in the eighth.
“You can look at it and just say it wasn’t our day," Uggla said. "That’s what I said as soon as I walked into the clubhouse, just chalk this one up as a wash. We’re coming to the field, going back to the hotel, packing ... everything was just kind of weird today. But that’s no excuse. He came out and pitched a great game."
With Hurricane Irene expected to impact the New York area this weekend, the Saturday and Sunday games were postponed and will be made up in a Sept. 8 doubleheader at Citi Field. The Saturday postponement wasn't announced until early Friday afternoon, after some Braves players and coaches had already arrived at the ballpark in Queens.
They had to go back to the team hotel in Manhattan to pack their bags, then return to Citi Field, since the team was to bus directly to the airport for its charter flight following the game.
The Braves have three days off to stew over Friday’s performance, one of the least impressive outings they have had in recent weeks.
Before Friday, Capuano was 1-4 with a 5.73 ERA in his past eight starts.
“The way he pitched today, he could have got anybody out," Gonzalez said. "He was darn good.”
Hudson (13-8) had won four consecutive decisions and was 8-1 with a 1.91 ERA in his past 11 starts before this death by a thousand cuts He was charged with four runs in 6 1/3 innings, snapping his string of nine consecutive starts of seven innings or more.
"If I keep it at two runs and it’s a 2-nothing game, the score doesn’t really indicate how one-sided it was," Hudson said. "They pitched better than we did and had a lot better at-bats.
“It was a battle for me. I wasn’t very sharp. The line pretty much tells the story. But you’ve got to tip you hat to Capuano. He was really crafty and kept us off balance all night.... We let it get away from us there at the end.”
Braves lefty Jonny Venters gave up two runs in the eighth inning to snap his scoreless streak at 22 2/3 innings since July 4.
Hudson left the game with two runners on and one out in the seventh and the Braves trailing 2-0.
George Sherrill relieved him and did his job, getting a flyout from the only batter he faced. Then Scott Linebrink surrendered a two-run double to the first batter he face, Justin Turner, continuing his recent woeful stretch.
That put the Mets ahead 4-0, and both of those runs went on Hudson’s bill. He had been 4-0 with a 1.49 ERA in his previous five starts.
If he was going to struggle in a game, it didn’t figure to be this one. The Mets had lost 11 of their past 14 before Friday, and hit .238 in that stretch.
Mets pitchers had given up six or more runs in eight of their past 14 games, including nine or more in four. But against the Braves, they needed only one pitcher to take care of business.
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