• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Glavine makes return for Braves

Mar 31, 2008 - 12:54 PM Pittsburgh (0-1) at Atlanta (0-1) 7:10 pm EDT

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- After four years with the rival New York Mets, Tom Glavine makes his return to Atlanta when he starts for the Braves on Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

During the Braves' decade of dominance of the 1990s, Glavine teammed with Greg Maddux and John Smoltz to form the best rotation in baseball.

The 42-year-old Glavine won two Cy Young Awards in Atlanta, helping the Braves win the World Series in 1995 and play in four others in 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1999.

After 16 seasons in Atlanta, Glavine signed a four-year, $42.5 million contract with New York in 2003. He went 52-42 in his four seasons with the Mets and last year became the 23th pitcher in major league history to win 300 games.

On November 18, Glavine rejoined his original team, signing a one-year contract worth $8 million.

Opposing Glavine will be Ian Snell, who is beginning his fourth season with the Pirates. Snell went 9-12 in 32 starts last season and has a career mark of 24-26.

Snell, a 26th round draft pick by the Pirates, will be making his first career Opening Day. He recently signed a three-year contract worth $8.6 million.

With 15 consecutive losing seasons, Pittsburgh can match the major league record 16 set by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1930s and 1940. The Pirates have not had a winning season since 1992, when they won the NL East with a 96-66 record.