• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Braves beat up on Mets

May 22, 2008 - 4:21 AM By Phil Foley PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- A night off sure did do Jeff Francoeur a lot of good.

Francoeur had three hits, including a two-run home run, and Chipper Jones also found the seats to lead the surging Braves to an 11-4 rout of the struggling New York Mets on Wednesday.

Mark Teixeira had three hits and drove in three runs and Brian McCann had three hits, drove in two runs and scored three times for red-hot Atlanta, which has won 11 of its last 12 at Turner Field.

"It's huge," Jones said of Francoeur's offensive outburst. "He was struggling terribly. We've been kind of ribbing him about his lack of power. It was good to see. (Braves manager) Bobby (Cox) made a great call on the day off."

The 24-year-old Francoeur had struggled mightily for Atlanta in May, batting just .235 (16-for-68) with no homers and seven RBIs in the month's first 17 games.

His offensive woes prompted Cox to sit Francoeur for the first time in 370 games in the second game of Atlanta's doubleheader against the Mets on Tuesday snapping the major league's longest active streak.

Francoeur started his newest streak with a flourish.

The Atlanta right fielder finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead the Braves to their third straight win over the arch-rival Mets.

"Bobby knows what he was doing," Francoeur said. "He let me relax and have fun. And today was fun for the first time in a while."

Francoeur punctuated Atlanta's three-run third with a run-scoring triple to give Atlanta a 3-1 lead before singling in a run in the fifth. He capped Atlanta's scoring by smacking a two-run shot off Mets reliever in Pedro Feliciano in the sixth.

It was the first homer for the Braves' matinee idol since April 12 vs. the Washington Nationals.

"It felt like it was a long time ago," Francoeur said of the homer. "When I hit that, I didn't know if it was going to be gone or caught. (I'm glad) it was gone, the guys were giving me a hard time."

Atlanta's red-hot offense tattooed New York's pitching for 14 hits on Cox's 67th birthday.

"Yeah, they did (give me a good present)," Cox said. "I wasn't aware of it until they reminded me of it after the ballgame. I forgot about (my birthday)."

Jones gave his long-time skipper a present by smashing his 11th homer of the season 403 feet into the left-center field bleachers for a 4-1 lead. It was the 398th homer of the switch-hitting slugger's career, tying him with Atlanta legend Dale Murphy for 45th on the all-time home run list.

"It means a lot," Jones said. "Ever since the first day, I walked into this clubhouse the first guy I met was Dale Murphy. I've seen them retire his jersey. The man is an absolute god in the city of Atlanta.

"To tie him in homers is pretty much the biggest milestone I've received at this point. Now, I can always say that I hit as many home runs as Dale Murphy."

However, Jones' night was cut short when he was hit on the right shin by Scott Schoeneweis in the seventh. The 36-year-old slugger grimaced in pain behind home plate before walking off the field with the assistance of Atlanta's trainer.

Jones, who is listed as day-to-day, said he will try to play Thursday.

"It's swollen up pretty good," said Jones. "We'll see. I'm sure it will feel good tomorrow."

Jones, who leads the majors with a .410 batting average, was 1-for-2 with two walks before leaving the contest.

The injury bug wasn't only limited to Atlanta. Mets left fielder Moises Alou walked off the field in the bottom of the third inning after straining his left calf.

The 41-year-old Alou will fly to New York for an MRI exam on Thursday. While he may return in time for Thursday's game, he will not play in the finale of the four-game set.

"To me, the most embarrassing thing is to walk off the field like I did," Alou said. "I couldn't even jog back. Hopefully, it's a couple-of-day thing. It doesn't feel good right now."

Atlanta starter Jair Jurrjens (5-3) continued his stellar rookie campaign, allowing two runs one earned and five hits, walking two and striking out one in seven solid frames.

"I had all of my stuff today," Jurrjens said. "Fortunately, I had my control back."

Jurrjens has defeated the Mets both times he faced them this season.

"I grew up watching the Braves," Jurrjens said. "I know about this rivalry. I'm enjoying it."

Mets starter Mike Pelfrey (2-5) was ineffective for New York, scattering six runs and eight hits in four-plus frames.

Carlos Beltran and David Wright had two hits and drove in a run apiece for New York, which has dropped three straight after sweeping the Yankees in the "Subway Series" last weekend.

"We played good in New York against the Yankees," Beltran said. "When we came here, we couldn't do what we're supposed to be doing, winning ballgames against a team in our division. It's not a good feeling."