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Braves-Mets Preview

May 12, 2009 - 5:16 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Atlanta (15-16) at New York (17-13), 7:10 p.m. EDT

Once again, the New York Mets failed to provide much offensive support for Johan Santana in their last game.

That means they'll probably bounce back with plenty of runs for Mike Pelfrey - one of the most unlikely undefeated pitchers in baseball.

The Mets look to rebound from their first loss in a week and help Pelfrey win his fourth straight start when they face the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.

New York (17-14) brought a seven-game winning streak into Monday's series opener and had its ace on the mound. While Santana dominated again, he didn't get much help as the Mets lost 8-3.

Santana gave up two unearned runs in 6 1-3 innings but fell to 4-2 despite an NL-best 0.78 ERA.

The Mets, who scored 32 runs over the previous four games, have managed 11 in Santana's seven starts. They're averaging 5.8 runs in their other 24 contests and 6.3 in six games immediately following a Santana outing.

"We try to figure that out. It's hard to believe," said shortstop Jose Reyes, who was hitless in three at-bats and made an error that led to an unearned run. "We feel bad right now."

Unlike Santana, Pelfrey (4-0, 5.46 ERA) has benefited greatly from New York's lineup.

The right-hander has a 4.00 ERA during his three-start win streak, with the Mets scoring 22 runs over that span.

Pelfrey gave up three runs and eight hits in seven innings of a 7-5 win over Philadelphia on Thursday. He made four starts against the Braves last season, going 1-2 with a 6.29 ERA.

Atlanta (16-16) counters with Jair Jurrjens (3-2, 2.01), who can relate to what Santana's going through.

Jurrjens has received one or no runs of support in four of his seven starts, going 0-2 with a 1.61 ERA in those games.

He finally got some offense to work with his last time out, giving up two runs and three hits in seven innings of a 4-2 victory at Florida on Thursday.

The right-hander went 2-1 with a 4.00 ERA in three starts against New York last season.

"We have our best pitcher going out there (Tuesday) and we feel good about what we've done in the past seven days," Monday's winner Derek Lowe told the Braves' official Web site.

The Braves are 5-1 on an eight-game road trip against the three teams ahead of them in the NL East. Jurrjens has been his best on the road, going 2-1 with a 1.00 ERA in four starts.

The Braves hope to have one of their big bats back Tuesday, while the Mets will probably have to wait at least another day for one of their sluggers to return.

Atlanta's Chipper Jones was sidelined due to a sore right elbow Monday, while Carlos Delgado sat out for New York because of a recurring hip injury.

Jones, who was available to pinch-hit, could be in the starting lineup Tuesday. Delgado, 8 for 16 with a homer and five RBIs in his last four games, is expected to be out again.