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Mets-Braves Preview

May 16, 2010 - 11:40 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

New York (18-19) at Atlanta (17-19), 7:10 p.m. EDT

With poor road play largely to blame, it's taken the New York Mets merely half a month to go from first to worst in the NL East.

Solving the road woes in Atlanta doesn't figure to be easy.

The slumping Mets try to shake their struggles at Turner Field on Monday night when they open a two-game series against the suddenly surging Braves.

New York (18-20) arrives in Atlanta on the heels of a four-game sweep at Florida. After managing eight runs in the first three losses to the Marlins, the Mets matched that total and had 12 hits Sunday, but poor pitching doomed them to a 10-8 loss. It marked New York's 11th defeat in 15 games since May 1 - a swoon which has dropped the club from first to fifth in the East.

"We've got to get some things straightened out," manger Jerry Manuel said. "We have to make decisions and find the pieces that can get it done."

Most of New York's problems this month have come on the road. The Mets are 1-8 away from Citi Field in May, and an NL-worst 4-12 on the season.

New York, which swept a three-game home series over the Braves from April 23-25, is 4-14 in Atlanta since the start of the 2008 season. Monday's scheduled starter Mike Pelfrey (4-1, 3.14) has taken the mound for three of those games, going 0-2 with an 11.30 ERA.

Pelfrey posted a 0.72 ERA while winning his first four starts of 2010, culminating in a 1-0 win over the Braves on April 25, when he limited Atlanta to five hits in five innings.

The right-hander hasn't looked the same since, going 0-1 with a 6.88 ERA in his last three starts. Pelfrey failed to find a rhythm against Washington on Wednesday, needing a season-high 119 pitches to go 5 2-3 innings. He gave up four runs and seven hits and didn't get a decision in the Mets' 6-4 loss.

It will be important for Pelfrey to work deeper into this game after Sunday's starter Jonathon Niese departed in the third inning with a right hamstring injury.

While the Mets can't seem to win on the road, the Braves are playing well at home, winning five of six at Turner Field.

Atlanta (18-19) also improved to 5-1 in its last six games overall with Sunday's 13-1 win over Arizona. Second baseman Martin Prado homered twice and had three RBIs, while first baseman Troy Glaus homered and knocked in two.

That duo has led Atlanta's offense during the current hot streak. Prado is batting .367 with three home runs and 11 RBIs over the last six games, while Glaus is hitting .417 with three homers and seven RBIs.

"We knew we had a pretty good offense," Prado said. "I'm glad all my teammates are getting their hitting going."

Now that the offense is rolling, the Braves need starter Derek Lowe (5-3, 5.73) to get on track.

He's been inconsistent, alternating good and bad outings. Since April 22, the right-handed sinkerballer has a 2.45 ERA in two victories but a 9.19 ERA in three losses.

Lowe had one of his good outings Wednesday, allowing two runs in six innings of a 9-2 win at Milwaukee.

This will be Lowe's first start of the season versus the Mets. He went 2-1 in five starts against them in 2009 despite a 6.94 ERA.