Shea Stadium Flushing, New York
| Team | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Atlanta Braves | 7 | 15 | 1 |
 | New York Mets | 3 | 6 | 0 |
Highlights
The Braves scored all the runs necessary in the first 3 innings as they closed the gap to 3½ games in the NL East and easily bested the Mets 7-3 in the opener of a meaningful 3 game series between these top two contenders. Matt Diaz started things off early for the Braves as he belted a solo homerun in the top of the first as the second batter of the game. Then after the Mets went quietly in the bottom of the first the Braves connected for two more runs off four hits in the top of the second. Jeff Francoeur got things started with a double after Andruw Jones led off the inning with a fly ball to left. Catcher Brian McCann followed with a single scoring Francoeur and then second baseman Kelly Johnson was retired on strikes for the out number two. Pitcher Buddy Carlyle helped his own cause by keeping the inning alive as he reached on a single and lead-off hitter Yunel Excobar delivered McCann for the third run of the game as he reached on a double. The Braves ended the inning with a 3-0 lead as Diaz flied out to right for the third out. The Mets sent the minimum batters to the plate in the bottom of the second and then the Braves put it out of reach as Francoeur slugged a 3 run blast in the top of third to increase the lead to 6-0. The Mets scored a single run in the fourth and 2 more in the fifth but were unable to overcome the Braves’ early lead. Buddy Carlyle completed five innings to secure the win giving up all 6 of Atlanta’s hits while issuing 1 walk and recording 1 strike out. Ron Mahay, Octavio Dotel, Rafael Soriano and Peter Moylan each went an inning of hitless relief to shut down the Braves the rest of the way.