Series preview: vs. Mets
When (TV): 7:10 p.m. Monday (SPSO), 1:10 p.m. Tuesday (SPSO), 7:10 p.m. Tuesday (SPSO), 7:10 p.m. Wednesday (SPSO), 7:10 p.m. Thursday (SPSO).
Radio: 680, 93.7, 100.5
Probable starting pitchers:
Monday: Braves RH Tim Hudson (4-6, 4.41 ERA) vs. RH Dillon Gee (5-6, 4.84)
Tuesday: Game 1 Braves LH Alex Wood (0-0, 3.52 ERA) vs. RH Matt Harvey (5-1, 2.04)
Game 2 Braves LH Paul Maholm (7-5, 3.65) vs. RH Zack Wheeler (East Paulding High grad’s ML debut)
Wednesday: Braves RH Kris Medlen (3-7, 3.09) vs. RH Shaun Marcum (0-8, 5.43)
Thursday: Braves LH Mike Minor (8-2, 2.68) vs. LH Jonathon Niese (3-6, 4.15)
About the Braves:
Batting: With his walk-off single Saturday night, Freddie Freeman was hitting .446 (25-for-56) with runners in scoring position the most by a Brave with 10 or more at-bats in those situations. He tied Evan Gattis for the team lead with his sixth game-winning RBI. Jason Heyward had hit safely in 11 of his previous 12 games entering Sunday, while batting .373 (19-for-51) with three doubles, three home runs and four RBIs.
Pitching: Hudson is 0-2 in three starts in June, despite a 1.66 ERA. He has allowed only four earned runs total while going at least seven innings in each of those starts. Hudson is 0-5 since May 5, when he limited the Mets to three earned runs in 7 1/3 innings of a 9-4 win in New York. Brandon Beachy was scratched from making his return from Tommy John surgery Tuesday because of elbow inflammation. The Braves will give rookie left-hander Alex Wood his first major league start in Beachy's place. Wood has made six appearances in the Braves bullpen.
Miscellaneous: Tuesday's doubleheader includes a make-up game for a May 4 rain-out at Turner Field. The Braves are 3-2 against the Mets this season.
About the Mets:
Batting: The Mets were last in the National League in batting average (.209) and runs scored (37) before Sunday's walk-off win over the Cubs. Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit a three-run homer off Cubs closer Carlos Marmol to give the Mets their first walk-off home run after trailing by two runs since Bobby Bonilla hit a three-run homer off Reds closer Rob Dibble in 1992. David Wright is hitting .356 in June and .381 (16-for-42) over his past nine games, including four doubles, two home runs and six RBIs.
Pitching: The standout rookie Harvey faces the Braves for the first time after missing them in each of the first two series. He is second to Clayton Kershaw (1.84) for the NL lead in ERA (2.04) and third in the NL with 102 strikeouts. The Mets have lost each of his past three starts though, despite Harvey allowing only six earned runs in 19 innings (2.84 ERA). The Mets plan to employ a six-man rotation when they call up East Paulding High graduate Wheeler for his major league debut in Tuesday's doubleheader.
Miscellaneous: The Mets are 3-9 in June and are coming off series losses to the Cubs, Cardinals and Marlins.
- Carroll Rogers
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