NL: ATLANTA at NY METS <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ATLANTA (3) AT NY METS (4) - HOW THEY SCORED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NY METS 1ST: J Reyes singled to center. J Reyes safe at second on throwing error by pitcher J Smoltz. L Castillo sacrificed to third, J Reyes to third. D Wright hit sacrifice fly to left, J Reyes scored. C Delgado grounded out to first. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) ATLANTA 0, NY METS 1. ATLANTA 6TH: Y Escobar struck out swinging. J Smoltz struck out looking. W Harris walked. K Johnson singled to right center, W Harris to second. C Jones doubled to center, W Harris and K Johnson scored. M Teixeira singled to center, C Jones scored. B McCann flied out to right. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, NY METS 1. NY METS 7TH: S Green singled to right center. P Lo Duca flied out to right. L Milledge singled to center, S Green to second. R Gotay hit for O Hernandez. R Mahay relieved J Smoltz. D Easley hit for R Gotay. D Easley walked, S Green to third, L Milledge to second. J Reyes flied out to right. L Castillo singled to left center, S Green and L Milledge scored, D Easley to second. P Moylan relieved R Mahay. D Wright grounded out to pitcher. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, NY METS 3. NY METS 8TH: R Soriano relieved P Moylan. C Delgado flied out to center. M Alou homered to left. S Green singled to center. P Lo Duca grounded out to third, S Green to second. L Milledge lined out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, NY METS 4.</div>
NL: ATLANTA at NY METS <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ATLANTA (3) AT NY METS (4) - EVENT LOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Atlanta Starting Lineups -- W Harris LF, K Johnson 2B, C Jones 3B, M Teixeira 1B, B McCann C, J Francoeur RF, A Jones CF, Y Escobar SS, J Smoltz RHP. Ny Mets Starting Lineups -- J Reyes SS, L Castillo 2B, D Wright 3B, C Delgado 1B, M Alou LF, S Green RF, P Lo Duca C, L Milledge CF, O Hernandez RHP. Umpires -- Larry Poncino (HP), Jerry Meals (1B), Bruce Dreckman (2B), Gary Darling (3B). Gametime Weather: 93 degrees, Cloudy, wind out to center at 17 mph. ATLANTA 1ST: W Harris struck out swinging. K Johnson struck out swinging. C Jones grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 0, NY METS 0. NY METS 1ST: J Reyes singled to center. J Reyes safe at second on throwing error by pitcher J Smoltz. L Castillo sacrificed to third, J Reyes to third. D Wright hit sacrifice fly to left, J Reyes scored. C Delgado grounded out to first. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) ATLANTA 0, NY METS 1. ATLANTA 2ND: M Teixeira struck out swinging. B McCann grounded out to shortstop. J Francoeur flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 0, NY METS 1. NY METS 2ND: M Alou flied out to left. S Green singled to center. P Lo Duca singled to left, S Green to second. L Milledge struck out swinging. O Hernandez flied out to right. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 0, NY METS 1. ATLANTA 3RD: A Jones grounded out to third. Y Escobar grounded out to shortstop. J Smoltz walked. W Harris struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 0, NY METS 1. NY METS 3RD: J Reyes singled to left. J Reyes stole second. L Castillo grounded out to first, J Reyes to third. D Wright struck out swinging. C Delgado popped out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 0, NY METS 1. ATLANTA 4TH: K Johnson fouled out to third. C Jones flied out to center. M Teixeira flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 0, NY METS 1. NY METS 4TH: M Alou grounded out to third. S Green reached on infield single to second. P Lo Duca grounded into double play, third to second to first, S Green out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 0, NY METS 1. ATLANTA 5TH: B McCann singled to center. J Francoeur struck out looking. A Jones grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, B McCann out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 0, NY METS 1. NY METS 5TH: L Milledge struck out swinging. O Hernandez fouled out to first. J Reyes walked. J Reyes caught stealing second, catcher to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 0, NY METS 1. ATLANTA 6TH: Y Escobar struck out swinging. J Smoltz struck out looking. W Harris walked. K Johnson singled to right center, W Harris to second. C Jones doubled to center, W Harris and K Johnson scored. M Teixeira singled to center, C Jones scored. B McCann flied out to right. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, NY METS 1. NY METS 6TH: L Castillo singled to center. D Wright struck out swinging. C Delgado grounded into fielder's choice to first, L Castillo out at second. M Alou flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, NY METS 1. ATLANTA 7TH: J Francoeur grounded out to first. A Jones flied out to right. Y Escobar flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, NY METS 1. NY METS 7TH: S Green singled to right center. P Lo Duca flied out to right. L Milledge singled to center, S Green to second. R Gotay hit for O Hernandez. R Mahay relieved J Smoltz. D Easley hit for R Gotay. D Easley walked, S Green to third, L Milledge to second. J Reyes flied out to right. L Castillo singled to left center, S Green and L Milledge scored, D Easley to second. P Moylan relieved R Mahay. D Wright grounded out to pitcher. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, NY METS 3. ATLANTA 8TH: A Heilman relieved O Hernandez. S Thorman hit for P Moylan. S Thorman flied out to center. W Harris singled to center. W Harris caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. K Johnson struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, NY METS 3. NY METS 8TH: R Soriano relieved P Moylan. C Delgado flied out to center. M Alou homered to left. S Green singled to center. P Lo Duca grounded out to third, S Green to second. L Milledge lined out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, NY METS 4. ATLANTA 9TH: B Wagner relieved A Heilman. C Jones singled to left. M Teixeira singled to left, C Jones to second. C Woodward hit for B McCann. C Woodward walked, C Jones to third, M Teixeira to second. J Francoeur grounded into fielder's choice to third, C Jones out at home, M Teixeira to third, C Woodward to second. A Jones grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, J Francoeur out at second.(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, NY METS 4.</div>
Alou blast helps Mets past rival Braves <h3>NY METS 4, ATLANTA 3</h3><div class="pre">FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Moises Alou gave the New York</div>Mets back some of their cushion in the National League East. Alou homered to snap an eighth-inning tie after Luis Castillohad a game-tying two-run single an inning earlier as the Metswaited out John Smoltz and rallied for a 4-3 victory over theAtlanta Braves. Alou, who had been hitless at home since being activated fromthe 15-day disabled list on July 28, blasted an 0-2 fastballfrom Rafael Soriano (2-3) well into the left field bullpen tosnap a 3-3 tie. Shawn Green went 4-for-4 for the Mets, who increased their leadover the Braves to 4 1/2 games in the NL East after losingTuesday's opener of a three-game series. Billy Wagner then entered in the ninth and quickly found himselfin a quagmire. The lefthander allowed consecutive singles toChipper Jones and Mark Teixeira. He then walked Brian McCannbut got Jeff Francoeur to hit into a forceout at home and AndruwJones to ground into a double play to record his 26th save in27 chances. Aaron Heilman (7-3) earned the win with a scorelesseighth inning in relief of Orlando Hernandez. Trailing, 3-1, in the seventh, the Mets had tied the game at 3-3on broken-bat single to center by the recently acquiredCastillo. Smoltz left with one out after allowing singles to Green andLastings Milledge. Ron Mahay walked pinch hitter Damion Easleyto load the bases and got Jose Reyes on a fly ball to shallowright field. Castillo followed with a broken-bat single tocenter on the first pitch from Mahay. Smoltz allowed three runs - two earned - and eight hits over 61/3 innings in his duel with Mets starter Orlando Hernandez. Hernandez allowed just one hit through the first five inningsand retired the first two batters in the sixth before walkingWillie Harris. Kelly Johnson singled to right and both runnersscored on a double to right-center field by Chipper Jones. Teixeira followed with an RBI single to right-center field,increasing Atlanta's lead to 3-1. Hernandez, who has not lost since July 4, allowed three runs andfour hits in seven innings. Up until the sixth, the Braves haddone next to nothing against Hernandez. The righthander retiredthe first eight batters before a walk to Smoltz in the thirdand did not allow a hit until McCann singled to lead off thefifth. Castillo had two hits for New York, which has won five of seven,but recorded just their fourth win in 11 games against Atlanta.
Alou blast helps Mets past rival Braves <h3>NY METS 4, ATLANTA 3</h3><div class="pre">FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Moises Alou gave the New York</div>Mets back some of their cushion in the National League East. Alou homered to snap an eighth-inning tie after Luis Castillohad a game-tying two-run single an inning earlier as the Metswaited out John Smoltz and rallied for a 4-3 victory over theAtlanta Braves. Alou, who had been hitless at home since being activated fromthe 15-day disabled list on July 28, blasted an 0-2 fastballfrom Rafael Soriano (2-3) well into the left field bullpen tosnap a 3-3 tie. Shawn Green went 4-for-4 for the Mets, who increased their leadover the Braves to 4 1/2 games in the NL East after losingTuesday's opener of a three-game series. Billy Wagner then entered in the ninth and quickly found himselfin a quagmire. The lefthander allowed consecutive singles toChipper Jones and Mark Teixeira. He then walked Brian McCannbut got Jeff Francoeur to hit into a forceout at home and AndruwJones to ground into a double play to record his 26th save in27 chances. Aaron Heilman (7-3) earned the win with a scoreless eighthinning in relief of Orlando Hernandez. Trailing, 3-1, in the seventh, the Mets had tied the game at 3-3on broken-bat single to center by the recently acquiredCastillo. Smoltz left with one out after allowing singles to Green andLastings Milledge. Ron Mahay walked pinch hitter Damion Easleyto load the bases and got Jose Reyes on a fly ball to shallowright field. Castillo followed with a single to center on thefirst pitch from Mahay. Smoltz allowed three runs - two earned - and eight hits over 61/3 innings in his duel with Mets starter Orlando Hernandez. Hernandez allowed just one hit through the first five inningsand retired the first two batters in the sixth before walkingWillie Harris. Kelly Johnson singled to right and both runnersscored on a double to right-center field by Chipper Jones. Teixeira followed with an RBI single to right-center field,increasing Atlanta's lead to 3-1. Hernandez, who has not lost since July 4, allowed three runs andfour hits in seven innings. Up until the sixth, the Braves haddone next to nothing against Hernandez. The righthander retiredthe first eight batters before a walk to Smoltz in the thirdand did not allow a hit until McCann singled to lead off thefifth. Castillo had two hits for New York, which has won five of seven,but recorded just their fourth win in 11 games against Atlanta.
NL: ATLANTA at NY METS <div class="pre">ATLANTA (3) VS NY METS (4) - FINAL ATLANTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg W Harris lf 3 1 1 0 1 2 1 .328 K Johnson 2b 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 .297 C Jones 3b 4 1 2 2 0 0 0 .340 M Teixeira 1b 4 0 2 1 0 1 0 .267 B McCann c 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .267 b-C Woodward ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .214 J Francoeur rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .307 A Jones cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 .215 Y Escobar ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .327 J Smoltz p 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .111 R Mahay p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 P Moylan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-S Thorman ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .219 R Soriano p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 31 3 7 3 3 8 9 a-flied out to center for P Moylan in the 8th; b-walked for B Mccann in the 9th. BATTING: 2B - C Jones (27, O Hernandez). RBI - C Jones 2 (60), M Teixeira (9). 2-out RBI - C Jones 2, M Teixeira. GIDP - A Jones 2. Team LOB - 4. BASERUNNING: CS - W Harris (10, 2nd base by A Heilman/P Lo Duca). FIELDING: E - J Smoltz (2, throw). DP: 1 (C Jones-K Johnson-M Teixeira). NY METS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Reyes ss 3 1 2 0 1 0 3 .305 L Castillo 2b 3 0 2 2 0 0 0 .344 D Wright 3b 3 0 0 1 0 2 4 .299 C Delgado 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .251 M Alou lf 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 .299 S Green rf 4 1 4 0 0 0 0 .277 P Lo Duca c 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .266 L Milledge cf 4 1 1 0 0 2 3 .303 O Hernandez p 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .175 a-R Gotay ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .344 b-D Easley ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .269 A Heilman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 B Wagner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 31 4 11 4 2 4 17 a-hit for O Hernandez in the 7th; b-walked for R Gotay in the 7th. BATTING: HR - M Alou (5, 8th inning off R Soriano 0 on, 1 Out). S - L Castillo. SF - D Wright. RBI - D Wright (68), L Castillo 2 (2), M Alou (18). 2-out RBI - L Castillo 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Delgado 1, O Hernandez 1, D Wright 1, L Milledge 1. GIDP - P Lo Duca. Team LOB - 7. BASERUNNING: SB - J Reyes (54, 2nd base off J Smoltz/B McCann). CS - J Reyes (15, 2nd base by J Smoltz/B McCann). FIELDING: DP: 2 (J Reyes-L Castillo-C Delgado, L Castillo-J Reyes-C Delgado). ---------------------------------------------------- ATLANTA - 000 003 000 -- 3 NY METS - 100 000 21x -- 4 ---------------------------------------------------- ATLANTA ip h r er bb so hr era J Smoltz 6 1/3 8 3 2 1 4 0 3.03 R Mahay (B, 1) 1/3 1 0 0 1 0 0 1.69 P Moylan 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.90 R Soriano (L, 2-3) 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 3.83 NY METS ip h r er bb so hr era O Hernandez 7 4 3 3 2 7 0 3.05 A Heilman (W, 7-3) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.41 B Wagner (S, 26) 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 1.28 Pitches-strikes: J Smoltz 101-69; R Mahay 11-6; P Moylan 3-2; R Soriano 18-14; O Hernandez 101-64; A Heilman 20-12; B Wagner 15-7. Ground balls-fly balls: J Smoltz 7-7; R Mahay 0-1; P Moylan 1-0; R Soriano 1-2; O Hernandez 7-7; A Heilman 0-1; B Wagner 3-0. Batters faced: J Smoltz 26; R Mahay 3; P Moylan 1; R Soriano 5; O Hernandez 26; A Heilman 3; B Wagner 5. UMPIRES: HP--Larry Poncino. 1B--Jerry Meals. 2B--Bruce Dreckman. 3B--Gary Darling. T--2:48. Att--51,749. Weather: 93 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 17 mph, out to center.</div>
Alou's blast helps Mets past rival Braves <h3>NY METS 4, ATLANTA 3</h3>By Doug Mittler PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Moises Alou has been aroundbaseball long enough to know that fortunes can change quickly.It happened in a 24-hour span, enabling the Mets to pad theircushion in the National League East Division. One night after grounding into a pair of double plays, Alouhomered to snap an eighth-inning tie and Billy Wagner escaped abases-loaded, none-out jam in the ninth as the Mets rallied fora 4-3 victory Wednesday over the Atlanta Braves. Luis Castillo had a game-tying, two-run single an inning earlierand Shawn Green collected four hits for the Mets, who increasedtheir divisional lead over the Braves to 4 1/2 games afterlosing Tuesday's opener of a three-game series. "You play this game a long time and you know there is atomorrow," said the 41-year-old Alou, who made his major leaguedebut back in 1990. "I felt I would have another opportunity." Alou, who had been hitless at home since being activated fromthe 15-day disabled list on July 28, blasted an 0-2 fastballfrom Rafael Soriano (2-3) well into the left field bullpen tosnap a 3-3 tie. "It was a good hitter's pitch. I got good wood on it," Alousaid. Wagner then entered in the ninth and quickly found himself in aquagmire. "Some days, it's smoke and mirrors," Wagner said. "I threw twopitches that inning that were any good." The lefthander allowed consecutive singles by Chipper Jones andMark Teixeira before walking pinch hitter Chris Woodward, whowas trying to bunt. While facing an elite closer, even Braves manager Bobby Coxliked his chanches at that point. "I'll take bases-loaded, no out against Sandy Koufax," Cox said."You have a chance." That chance ended when Wagner got Jeff Francoeur to hit into aforceout at home and Andruw Jones to ground into a double playto notch his 26th save in 27 chances. Aaron Heilman (7-3) recorded the win with a scoreless eighthinning in relief of Orlando Hernandez. Trailing, 3-1, in the seventh, the Mets had tied the game at 3-3on a broken-bat, two-run single by the recently acquiredCastillo. John Smoltz left with one out after allowing singles by Greenand Lastings Milledge. Ron Mahay walked pinch hitter DamionEasley to load the bases and got Jose Reyes on a flyout toshallow right field. Castillo followed with a single to center on the first pitchfrom Mahay. Smoltz allowed three runs - two earned - and eight hits in 6 1/3innings in his duel with Hernandez. The righthander alsotweaked his back in the sixth. "That's the toughest loss of the year. They found every hole,"Smoltz said. "I'd rather have lost 10-0." Hernandez allowed just one hit through the first five inningsand retired the first two batters in the sixth before walkingWillie Harris. Kelly Johnson singled to right and both runnersscored on a double to right-center field by Chipper Jones. Teixeira followed with an RBI single to right-center field,increasing Atlanta's lead to 3-1. "(That inning) was hard, but that's the game," Hernandez said. Hernandez, who has not lost since July 4, allowed three runs andfour hits in seven innings. Up until the sixth, the Braves had done next to nothing againstHernandez. The veteran righthander retired the first eightbatters before a walk to Smoltz in the third and did not allow ahit until McCann singled to lead off the fifth. Castillo had two hits for New York, which has won five of sevenbut recorded just its fourth win in 11 meetings with Atlanta. "They've given us plenty of trouble, so that win was huge," saidGreen, who is 16-for-29 lifetime against Smoltz.
