• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Braves-Mets Preview

Aug 19, 2009 - 4:08 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Atlanta (62-56) at New York (55-63), 7:10 p.m. EDT

The Atlanta Braves suddenly have some injuries to contend with. A depleted lineup certainly didn't slow down the New York Mets in their last game.

Missing Nate McLouth and Martin Prado, the visiting Braves look to rebound Wednesday night after an embarrassing loss to the makeshift Mets.

Atlanta (62-57), which put McLouth (hamstring) on the 15-day disabled list Monday, removed Prado in the first inning of a 9-4 loss to New York (56-63) on Tuesday night due to a severe headache.

It was a tough start to a three-game set for the Braves, who have sent Prado back to Atlanta for tests. Prado has been complaining of headaches and dizziness since leaving Saturday's 4-3 win over Philadelphia.

"He was good to go. He had a great infield. Fouled a ball off and it hit him again," manager Bobby Cox said.

Prado has been a spark plug for Atlanta all year, batting .309 with eight homers, 24 doubles and 37 RBIs while making starts at first, second and third.

He was replaced at first base by Adam LaRoche, who homered in the third inning. But Atlanta, which fell 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Phillies in the NL East, was thoroughly outplayed at the plate by a New York team that is without stars Jose Reyes (calf), Carlos Beltran (knee), Carlos Delgado (hip) and David Wright (concussion).

The Mets, who were coming off a 10-1 loss to San Francisco on Monday night, had a franchise-record 10 hits during an eight-run fourth inning.

New York had 17 hits without hitting a home run. Gary Sheffield, Luis Castillo and Jeff Francoeur all had three hits.

Francoeur, acquired from Atlanta for Ryan Church on July 10, continues to play well since joining the Mets. The right fielder has regressed since driving in 208 runs from 2006-07, but he's hitting .294 with five homers and 21 RBIs in 33 games with New York.

Francoeur and the Mets, though, may have a tough time putting together another strong performance as they face Jair Jurrjens (9-8, 2.99 ERA). The right-hander is 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA in five starts versus New York.

Jurrjens didn't receive a decision Friday night after giving up two runs and striking out six in seven innings of a 3-2 loss to Philadelphia.

The Mets will counter with Bobby Parnell (3-4, 3.50), who is making his third straight start after 54 relief appearances. He was outstanding Friday night, giving up three singles and striking out seven in six innings to beat the Giants 3-0.

"That's huge for us because we didn't know whether or not that he could fill that particular role," manager Jerry Manuel said. "It's a big, big boost for us in going forward."

Parnell threw a career-high 86 pitches in his last outing, but Manuel said the team is now comfortable letting him reach 100.

The right-hander has not received a decision in seven relief appearances against the Braves, pitching 4 2-3 scoreless innings.