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Buck helps Mets down Braves

Jul 26, 2013 - 12:47 AM Flushing, NY (Sports Network) - John Buck drove in three runs to back Zack Wheeler, as the New York Mets salvaged a split of their four-game set against the Atlanta Braves with Thursday's 7-4 win.

Daniel Murphy and Marlon Byrd each went 3-for-5 with an RBI for the Mets, while David Wright had two hits and one RBI.

Dan Uggla and Freddie Freeman both homered off Wheeler (4-1), who gave up two more hits, walked two and struck out five over six innings.

"I thought Wheeler threw well. He made one mistake to me and one mistake to Freddie and that was really it," Uggla said.

Fellow rookie Alex Wood, making his second career start, failed to last five frames for Atlanta. The 22-year-old allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings.

Wood, recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett, started in place of fellow left-hander Paul Maholm, who suffered a wrist contusion last Saturday against the White Sox. It was initially believed the injury landed Maholm on the disabled list, but he is still on the active roster.

Instead, Wood took the roster spot of hurler Tim Hudson, who was placed on the DL a day after sustaining a fractured right ankle that is expected to sideline him for the remainder of the season. Covering first base in the eighth inning of Wednesday's game, Hudson was inadvertently stepped on by outfielder Eric Young Jr.

The Mets scored three runs off Kameron Loe (0-1) in the sixth after the Braves had tied the game at 4-4 on Freeman's leadoff blast in the top half of the inning.

Andrew Brown opened the frame with a double, took third on a wild pitch and scored the go-ahead run on a base hit by Murphy.

Wright then sent a Loe offering to the gap in left-center that bounced off the warning track and over the wall for an apparent ground-rule double. However, the umpires saw the play differently and Wright wound up with an RBI triple. Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez came out to argue and was subsequently ejected by third-base umpire Chad Fairchild.

The New York third baseman wound up coming home on a two-out double by Buck.

David Aardsma, LaTroy Hawkins and Bobby Parnell each tossed an inning in relief of Wheeler, with Parnell pitching the ninth for his 20th save.

"Our guys realize (the game) isn't over until the last out is made," Mets manager Terry Collins said.

Atlanta took advantage of a throwing error after a wild pitch to get on the board in the first inning. With two outs, Evan Gattis swung and missed at a curveball in the dirt that got away from Buck. The Mets catcher retrieved the ball and made an ill-advised throw to first that hit Gattis, allowing Reed Johnson, who doubled, to score.

Buck atoned for the error by capping a four-run third inning with a two-run single, but Uggla closed the gap to 4-3 in the fourth with a two-run blast to left.

Game Notes

Brown replaced Young, who left after three innings with right knee pain ... The Mets were 4-for-19 with runners in scoring position and stranded 14 men on base.