Martinez Holds Braves in Check For 200th Win
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Pedro Martinez earned his 200th win and the Mets sent an early message to Atlanta: They might have what it takes at last to topple their longtime nemesis.
Martinez became the seventh active pitcher with 200 victories, and the Mets edged the Braves 4-3 last night in the first of 18 meetings this season between the NL East rivals.
Carlos Delgado and Xavier Nady each homered and drove in two runs for the Mets, who im proved the best record in baseball to 10-2 and extended the fastest start in franchise history.
The Mets did it without star center fielder Carlos Beltran, who sat out with a tight right hamstring. New York also lost left fielder Cliff Floyd to a strained muscle in his rib cage.
Andruw Jones hit his fifth homer and second in two days for the Braves, missing injured third baseman Chipper Jones and shortstop Edgar Renteria.
Tagged by Delgado again, Jorge Sosa lasted only four-plus innings.
Nady and Paul Lo Duca finished with three hits apiece for the Mets, who have been chasing Atlanta for years. This season, they think they have the talent to finally end the Braves’ record run of 14 consecutive division titles.
One game hardly proves much, but New York is playing some pretty crisp ball right now.
Martinez (3-0) struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and six hits. He is 200-84, the fewest losses for any pitcher with 200 wins.
Duaner Sanchez struck out two of his four batters, and Billy Wagner worked the ninth for his fourth save.
Floyd departed after four innings. He might have been hurt while legging out his double to lead off the fourth, and looked to be laboring while rounding third on Nady’s subsequent RBI double. His run extended the Mets’ lead to 4-2. He was replaced by Jose Valentin.
Andruw Jones’s sacrifice fly put Atlanta ahead in the first, but Nady connected in the second to tie it.
Marcus Giles doubled with two outs in the third and scored on a single by Ryan Langerhans, giving the Braves a 2-1 lead. Lo Duca doubled in the bottom half, and Delgado’s two-run shot to right put the Mets up 3-2.
Delgado is 14-for-27 (.519) lifetime against Sosa with seven homers and 14 RBI. He extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
Jones homered over the left-field bleachers to start the sixth. He has 18 RBI.
