Series preview: Braves at Mets
When (TV): 7:10 p.m. Friday, 7:10 p.m. Saturday, 1:10 p.m. Sunday (FSSO)
Radio: 680, 93.7, 106.7
Probable starting pitchers:
Friday: Braves RH Aaron Harang (2-1, 0.96 ERA) vs. LH Jon Niese (0-1, 3.46)
Saturday: Braves RH Ervin Santana (1-0, 0.64) vs. RH Bartolo Colon (1-2, 6.00)
Sunday: Braves RH David Hale (0-0, 2.89) vs. RH Zach Wheeler (1-2, 4.67)
About the Braves:
Batting: Evan Gattis is 14-for-33 (.424) with two doubles, four homers and seven RBIs in nine April games, including three homers in two games in the just-completed series at Philadelphia. In his past 21 games against the Mets, Freddie Freeman is 29-for-81 (.358) with six homers and 20 RBIs. Jason Heyward is 5-for-51 (.098) in his past 13 games.
Pitching: Harang has allowed two runs and nine hits in 18 2/3 innings of his first three starts for the Braves, with 17 strikeouts and six walks. He's 4-5 with a 5.20 ERA in 11 starts against the Mets, including an April 8 loss, despite allowing just two hits, one run and four walks in six innings. Santana is 2-0 with an 0.64 ERA in two starts against the Mets, with eight hits and one run in 14 innings. Hale has no record and a 6.23 ERA in one start against the Mets.
Miscellaneous: The Braves are 11-11 against the Mets since the beginning of the 2013 season. The Mets won two of three in Atlanta last week. Andrelton Simmons is 30-for-92 (.326) with 10 extra-base hits (three homers) and 14 RBIs, a .374 OBP and .511 slugging percentage in 24 games against the Mets, including two homers in nine games at Citi Field. Dan Uggla has 11 homers and 26 RBIs in 42 games at Citi Field. Against Niese, Heyward is 9-for-24 with two homers, Freeman is 9-for-27 with two homers, Justin Upton is 8-for-15, and Uggla is 9-for-30.
About the Mets:
Batting: Juan Lagares is 11-for-36 (.306) with a .342 OBP during a nine-game hitting streak. Daniel Murphy is 11-for-33 (.333) with two doubles, five RBIs and five multihit games in his past seven games, including three hits April 10 in Atlanta. Travis d'Arnaud is 0-for-15 with six strikeouts in home games and 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Pitching: Niese is 6-4 with a 3.62 ERA in 15 starts against the Braves, including 0-1 with a 6.91 ERA in three last season. He gave up five hits, three walks and one run in seven innings for no decision against the Braves in his last start against them, Aug. 21 in New York, the day when Niese hit Heyward with a pitch that broke his jaw. Colon is 4-0 with a 2.20 ERA in four starts against the Braves, and Wheeler is 3-1 with a 3.80 ERA in four starts against them.
Miscellaneous: Since they were swept at home by the Nationals to start the season, the Mets are 8-4 in their past 12 games and coming off a three-game sweep against Arizona. They hit .307 with a 1.67 ERA while outscoring the Diamondbacks 21-5. Against Harang, Eric Young is 5-for-8, David Wright is 11-for-24 with a homer, Murphy is 6-for-14 with a homer, and Ruben Tejada is 6-for-12.
