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Glavine faces former teammate Smoltz in series finale

May 24, 2007 - 1:47 PM NY Mets (29-16) at Atlanta (27-19) 7:35 pm EDT

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Tom Glavine has not fared well against the Atlanta Braves. He will look to get back on track against his former teammate.

Glavine will take on John Smoltz when the New York Mets meet the Braves in the finale of a three-game set between the top two teams in the National League East on Thursday.

A two-time NL Cy Young Award winner with Atlanta, Glavine (5-1, 3.43 ERA) has struggled mightily against his former club, posting a 3-10 mark with a 5.49 ERA in 17 starts. The veteran lefthander spent 16 years with the Braves before joining the rival Mets in 2003.

The 41-year-old Glavine, who now is five wins away from being the 23rd 300-game winner, allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings in a 10-7 win over the New York Yankees last Saturday.

Glavine will face Smoltz (6-2, 2.85), who spent 15 seasons on the same staff as Glavine, appearing in five World Series and hoisting the trophy in 1995 together. Despite his age, the 40-year-old Smoltz remains on top of his game.

This campaign, he is 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA at Turner Field. The veteran righthander also has had success here against New York, posting a 7-5 record with a 3.79 ERA. He also has recorded 13 saves against the Mets at home.

In his last outing, Smoltz was dominant, tossing seven scoreless innings - striking out seven and walking one - in a 14-0 drubbing of the Boston Red Sox last Saturday.

The teams have split the first two games of the series, including New York's 3-0 win on Wednesday night. Oliver Perez hurled seven innings of shutout ball to record his third victory against the Braves this season.

The Mets hold a 2 1/2-game lead in the NL East with the teams not meeting again until early August after Thursday's contest.