Braves  4    Mets  9

Recap: NY Mets vs. Atlanta

Sports Network | August 18, 2009

Flushing, NY (Sports Network) - Gary Sheffield and Luis Castillo each had three hits and drove in two runs as the Mets used an eight-run fourth inning to defeat the Braves, 9-4, in the opener of a three-game series.

Jeff Francoeur was 3-for-5 including an RBI double in the fourth where New York tied a season-high for runs in an inning and chased Braves starter Derek Lowe from the game.

"We were sneaking some hits in and a I think he (Lowe) was tired, we were able to take advantage of it," said Francoeur.

Oliver Perez (3-3) lasted five frames and surrendered five hits and four runs with a walk and four strikeouts opposite Lowe. He came in 0-1 in his last six starts with four straight no-decisions.

New York split a four-game home series with San Francisco in an extended weekend set that concluded with Monday's 10-1 setback. The Mets have dropped seven of their last 12 games despite the win.

Lowe (12-8) came in sporting a 5-0 record in his last seven starts but was rocked for eight runs and 11 hits in just 3 2/3 innings. He had lasted at least six innings during the unblemished run in which the Braves went 6-1.

Matt Diaz hit a three-run homer and Adam LaRoche a solo shot to account for Atlanta's offense.

The Braves were coming off Monday's 9-4 win over Arizona in a makeup game from a May rainout. Atlanta has won nine of its last 13 games despite the loss.

The visitors opened up a 4-0 lead behind Diaz's three-run blast in the second inning after Yunel Escobar and Garret Anderson strung together a pair of one- out singles, and LaRoche followed with a solo blast an inning later.

However, New York took complete control with an eight-run uprising off Lowe in the fourth. Base hits by Angel Pagan and Castillo started the inning and Sheffield opened the scoring with a two-run double. Francoeur doubled home Sheffield two batters later and Fernando Tatis laced an RBI single to left, tying the game.

"I was leaving every single ball flat, there wasn't a lot of positive," said Lowe. "We had a lead...it just seemed like we couldn't stop the bleeding. It's over with and we'll try to win tomorrow."

Three consecutive singles brought in another run on an Anderson Hernandez base hit and loaded the bases for Pagan, who scored Omir Santos with a fielder's choice groundout. Castillo followed with an RBI single and Lowe got the hook in favor of Kris Medlen, who despite allowing Sheffield's second double of the inning, escaped without further damage when Daniel Murphy struck out as the 13th batter of the frame.

Francoeur doubled and Tatis singled off Manny Acosta to start the seventh prior to a Santos fielder's choice that scored the Mets' ninth and final run.

Elmer Dessens, Pedro Feliciano and Brian Stokes combined to throw four scoreless innings of relief to preserve New York's big effort in the fourth.

The injury bug continues to bite the Mets as infielder Alex Cora was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with ligament injuries to both his right and left thumb. Cora will undergo two separate surgeries to repair the damage. He will have the first procedure done Thursday to fix the ligament in his right thumb and will wait five weeks before the surgery on his left thumb. To replace him on the roster, the team selected the contract of infielder Wilson Valdez from Triple-A Buffalo...New York signed its top pick from the 2009 Draft pitcher Steven Matz on Tuesday. The lefty was the 72nd overall selection. The Mets also signed later round picks catcher Jeffrey Glenn and pitchers Zachary Dotson and Anthony Whitenton...Atlanta has won five of nine meetings with New York this season, including four of the last five matchups between the clubs...Braves infielder Martin Prado left the game with a bout of dizziness. It's something Prado has been dealing with since a weekend series against Philadelphia. He is slated to return to Atlanta on Wednesday to be evaluated further.