Series Thread: NY Mets @ Atl. Braves (9/9-11)

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• Series preview: Mets at Braves


NEW YORK METS (74-66, second place/NL East) at ATLANTA BRAVES (54-86, fifth place/NL East)

Friday: RHP Robert Gsellman (2-1, 2.87) vs. RHP Julio Teheran (5-9, 3.01), 7:35 p.m. ET

Saturday: RHP Seth Lugo (3-2, 2.38) vs. RHP John Gant (1-3, 4.70), 7:10 p.m. ET

Sunday: RHP Bartolo Colon (13-7, 3.22) vs. RHP Williams Perez (2-2, 5.47), 1:35 p.m. ET

 

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• Morning Briefing: Mets in playoff spot, Tebow signs, farewell Turner Field



The New York Mets bid good riddance to a longtime house of horrors this weekend. They enter their series against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field alone in the National League’s second wild-card position, thanks to the St. Louis Cardinals’ 12-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.

The San Francisco Giants tenuously own the top wild-card spot at 74-65, followed by the Mets at 74-66 and the Cardinals at 73-66.

More good news for the Mets: The Giants and Cardinals meet for a four-game series beginning next Thursday in San Francisco. That means losses for at least one of those contenders.

Meanwhile, after a three-game series beginning Monday against theWashington Nationals in D.C., the Mets do not face another team with a winning record the remainder of the season.

First, though, the Mets play three games at Turner Field, which is in its final season hosting the Braves. The team is moving to a new stadium in Cobb County in 2017. Although Turner Field recently has been more hospitable, the Mets are only 65-105 lifetime at the stadium, which opened for baseball after the 1996 Olympics.

For those with a high pain threshold, Mark Simon at ESPN.com recounts the Mets’ most painful moments at Turner Field. (The stadium, by the way, won’t be demolished. Georgia State University will purchase it and play football there.)

In Friday’s series opener, Robert Gsellman (2-1, 2.87 ERA) opposes right-hander Julio Teheran (5-9, 3.01) at 7:35 p.m. ET.

 

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Neil Walker underwent surgery Thursday at the Hospital for Special surgery to address a herniated disk in his lower back that caused numbness in a toe. The procedure was referred to as lumbar microdiscectomy.

Lucas Duda will take batting practice against live pitching in Port St. Lucie on Saturday for the first time since his latest setback with a stress fracture in his lower back. He still may be back this season.

Juan Lagares has been cleared to swing a bat. That will be taken slowly, though. The Mets will push him aggressively defensively to ramp up and try to bring him back sooner than later as a defensive replacement and pinch runner.

Steven Matz (shoulder) will throw off a mound on Saturday in Port St. Lucie for the first time since landing on the disabled list. Jacob deGrom threw on flat ground on Friday in Atlanta for the first time since his forearm inflammation surfaced.

 

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Here is the Mets lineup for Friday's 7:35 p.m. ET series opener against the Braves at Turner Field:

Reyes, 3B
Cabrera, SS
Cespedes, LF
Granderson, CF
Flores, 2B
Bruce, RF
Loney, 1B
d'Arnaud, C
Gsellman, RHP

 

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FUCK YES!!!!

Mets stay resilient with a 4 run 8th to grab the win.....

• Johnson caps Mets' comeback for 6-4 win over Braves

• Ghosts of Turner Field? Phooey! Mets top Braves in opener

 

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• Morning Briefing: Mets stay hot in Hotlanta

ATLANTA -- The New York Mets are on fire, having won 15 of their last 19 games.

Bartolo Colon (13-7, 3.22 ERA) leapfrogs Seth Lugo in the rotation and starts opposite former Mets farmhand John Gant (1-3, 4.70) on Saturday at 7:10 p.m. ET at Turner Field.

Lugo will get an extra day and face the Braves in the series finale after dealing with a blister in his last start.

The Mets sent Gant and fellow right-hander Rob Whalen to the Braves in the original trade for Kelly Johnson in July 2015.



NO SHAKE UP IN NL WILD-CARD RACE
The Giants, Mets and Cardinals all won on Friday, so the standings didn't change. However, San Francisco's chances took a hit, while New York beefed up its odds. The Pirates lost, which dropped their chances to a meager 2 percent.

 

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Jacob deGrom threw off the mound at Turner Field on Saturday for the first time since getting shut down with forearm inflammation. He said it went fine. The session off a mound was only 10 pitches and in tennis shoes -- as light as it gets. "The main thing is to see how it reacts tomorrow," deGrom said about his forearm. "It's calmed down a lot."

Rafael Montero will remain in the rotation and face the Nationals on Monday in D.C., Terry Collins said. Montero has walked 10 in 9.1 innings over two starts, but has only allowed a combined three runs and five hits.

 

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The Mets lineup for Saturday's 7:10 p.m. ET game against the Braves at Turner Field:

Jose Reyes - 3B
Asdrubal Cabrera - SS
Yoenis Cespedes - LF
Curtis Granderson - CF
Jay Bruce - RF
Wilmer Flores - 1B
Kelly Johnson - 2B
Travis d'Arnaud - C
Bartolo Colon - RHP

 

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Garcia's tiebreaking single in 10th leads Braves past Mets

Collins shoulders blame for Mets' loss to Braves


Morning Briefing: Oh the pain! Poor decision, neck injury mar Saturday game

Terry Collins said Wilmer Flores reported to work Sunday with a stiff neck, but he is mostly OK. Flores injured himself in a plate collision with A.J. Pierzynski in the eighth inning on Saturday.

Terry Collins said he got distracted by setting up the pitching and failed to pinch run for Wilmer Flores in the eighth. "My fault," Collins said.

Wilmer Flores departed Saturday's game after getting thrown out at the plate in the eighth inning on T.J. Rivera's two-out single to right field in a tie ballgame. Flores went headfirst into catcher A.J. Pierzynski and took a jolt to the head and/or shoulder area.

Steven Matz threw 20 pitches off a mound at about 60 percent capacity in Port St. Lucie on Saturday. That was his first mound session since landing on the DL with a shoulder impingement. The plan is for Matz to up the intensity Monday.

 

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NY Mets lineup for Sunday's 1:35 p.m. ET game against the Braves.
It's the Mets' final game ever at Turner Field.

Jose Reyes - 3B
Asdrubal Cabrera - SS
Yoenis Cespedes - LF
Curtis Granderson - RF
Kelly Johnson - 2B
Alejandro De Aza - CF
James Loney - 1B
Rene Rivera - C
Seth Lugo - RHP

 

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Mets won......Cards lost.....

• Good riddance: Mets close door on Turner Field with rubber-match rout


• Cespedes, Lugo lead Mets to 10-3 win over Braves