Series preview: Braves at Mets

Series preview: Braves at Mets

When (TV): 7:10 p.m. Friday (WPCH), 4:05 p.m. Saturday (Fox), 1:10 p.m. Sunday (FSSO)

Radio: 680, 93.7, 100.5

Probable starting pitchers:

Friday: Braves LH Paul Maholm (11-9, 3.79 ERA) vs. LH Jonathon Niese (10-8, 3.55)

Saturday: Braves Kris Medlen (7-1, 1.56) vs. RH Jeremy Hefner (2-5, 4.52)

Sunday: Braves RH Tommy Hanson (12-8, 4.40) vs. RH Chris Young (4-7, 4.48)

About the Braves:

Batting: Brian McCann went 0-for-17 in four games on the just-completed homestand and is 14-for-84 (.155) with no extra-base hits, two RBIs and 18 strikeouts in 24 games since the beginning of August…. Freddie Freeman is 17-for-42 (.405) with five doubles, four homers, 16 RBIs and an .810 slugging percentage in 11 games vs. the Mets this season. He has seven doubles, two homers and 11 RBIs in 15 games at Citi Field.

Pitching: Maholm is 7-3 with a 2.37 ERA in his past 13 starts, and 2-3 with a 3.96 ERA in six since being traded to the Braves. He allowed 10 runs (all on six homers) in his first five Braves starts, then was charged with seven runs on six hits (no homers) and three walks in two innings for no decision in Sunday’s ninth-inning comeback win against Philadephia. He’s 5-3 with a 3.86 ERA in 12 games against the Mets, including 2-0 with an 0.69 ERA in two starts this season…. Medlen is 1-0 with a 1.60 ERA in 13 games (three starts) against the Mets, and Hanson is 3-5 with a 4.31 ERA in 10 starts against them.

Miscellaneous: Chipper Jones, making his last scheduled visit to New York, has a .314 career average with 46 doubles, four triples, 49 homers and 158 RBIs in 239 games against the Mets, including .208 (16-for-77) with four doubles, three homers and 14 RBIs in 22 games at Citi Field… Against Niese, David Ross is 6-for-13 with a homer and eight RBIs; Freeman is 5-for-13 with a homer; Jason Heyward is 5-for-14 with a homer and seven RBIs; Reed Johnson is 5-for-9; Jeff Baker is 6-for-12, and Jones is 4-for-17 with a homer.

About the Mets:

Batting: Ike Davis has hit .254 with 15 homers and an .879 OPS in his past 52 games, including 9-for-33 (.273) with four homers and nine RBIs in his last 10. Three of Davis’ nine hits (in 42 at-bats) against the Braves this season were homers. He has team-highs of 14 homers and 28 RBIs since the All-Star break, more than twice as many as homers as any other Met in that period…. Jason Bay hit a grand slam Sunday against Miami, but is just 14-for-92 (.152) with three homers, 12 RBIs and a .490 OPS in 36 games since the All-Star break.

Pitching: Niese is 3-3 with a 2.61 ERA in six starts since the beginning of August. He’s 5-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 10 starts against the Braves, including 4-0 with a 3.55 ERA in five during the past two seasons…. Hefner allowed four hits and one run in 3-2/3 innings for no decision in his only start against the Braves, while Chris Young is 2-3 with an 8.33 ERA in six starts against them, with nine homers allowed in 27 innings.

Miscellaneous: The Mets are 8-3 with a 2.60 ERA and 13 homers in their past 11 games. They were off Thursday…. Andres Torres is 16-for-43 (.372) with a .426 OBP in 18 games against the Braves, including 9-for-23 (.391) in seven this season…. David Wright is 6-for-9 against Maholm.

By David O’Brien