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Preview: Braves (26-18) at Mets (17-25)
Analysis  ·  BT Movements  ·  Line Movements
Game: 2
Venue: Citi Field
Date: September 08, 2012 4:05 PM EDT
  

The Atlanta Braves' recent offensive struggles have been masked by the opposition's inability to crack their pitching staff.

And that's without one of their stingiest starters even taking the mound.

Kris Medlen looks to win his sixth straight outing as visiting Atlanta seeks a fourth consecutive shutout Saturday against the New York Mets.

After being shut out by Colorado on Tuesday, the Braves have won three straight by a combined 5-0, beating the Mets 3-0 in the series opener Friday.

NL wild card-leading Atlanta (79-60), which got solo homers from Jason Heyward and Dan Uggla, is hitting .205 during its winning streak but hasn't needed much offense with the pitching staff tossing three consecutive shutouts for the first time since Sept. 4-7, 2002.

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"You try to throw up as many zeros as possible," said Paul Maholm, who struck out six in 5 1-3 innings Friday.

The Braves have never pitched four straight shutouts in their history, but they seemingly have a solid chance to accomplish the feat with Medlen taking the mound.

Medlen (7-1, 1.56 ERA) won his fifth straight outing Monday, allowing an unearned run and five hits while striking out a career-high 12 in a complete-game, 6-1 victory over the Rockies.

The right-hander is 6-0 with a 0.54 ERA while striking out 50 and walking five since entering the starting rotation July 31. He hasn't allowed an earned run since giving up one in 6 1-3 innings of a 9-3 win over the Mets on Aug. 11, though his scoreless innings streak came to an end at 34 2-3 on Monday - the Braves' longest since Greg Maddux in 2000.

"I know how I am as a pitcher and I know how competitive I am," Medlen told the team's official website. "When I put it all together, I think I can get results I want. Did I know it would be this kind of success? Not quite. But did I think I could do it? Yes."

The Braves have won Medlen's last 18 starts dating to 2010 - prior to him undergoing Tommy John surgery - marking the longest such streak since the Yankees won 21 consecutive games Roger Clemens started in 2001.

Atlanta has won eight of the last nine meetings with New York (65-73), which has dropped three of four overall and 17 of 21 at home. David Wright went 1 for 4 on Friday and is hitting .182 over his last six games against the Braves.

"We're not hitting at all. And we haven't been able to get big hits here at home," manager Terry Collins said.

New York looks to bounce back with help from Jeremy Hefner, who has pitched well in his last two outings but doesn't have a win to show for it.

Hefner (2-5, 4.52) gave up one run in eight innings of a 2-1 win over Houston on Aug. 26 before allowing two runs in six innings of a 5-3 victory over Miami last Saturday.

The rookie right-hander is 2-4 with a 4.64 ERA in nine starts.

"He was down in the zone all night with all his pitches, and threw his breaking ball from behind in the count," Collins said last weekend. "I thought he pitched really well."

Hefner pitched 3 2-3 innings of relief against the Braves in Medlen's win last month, giving up a solo homer to Freddie Freeman.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2013
The Associated Press
All Rights Reserved

 SERIES AT A GLANCE
GAME 1
Braves at Mets
Fri, Sep 7 Final 3 to 0
 Boxscores  •  Recaps
GAME 2
Braves at Mets
Sat, Sep 8 Final 11 to 3
 Boxscores  •  Recaps
GAME 3
Braves at Mets
Sun, Sep 9 Final 3 to 2
 Boxscores  •  Recaps

 CURRENT LAS VEGAS LINE
 Team  ML   RUN   O/U 
 ATL  -170   -105   7.5 
 NYM  +150   -115   
LAS VEGAS LINE MOVEMENTS

 CURRENT SPORTSBOOK LINE
 Team  ML   RUN   O/U 
 ATL  -162   -105   7.5 
 NYM  +147   -115   
OFFSHORE LINE MOVEMENTS

 BETTING TRENDS
 Team  ML   RUN   O/U 
 ATL  88%   99%   56% 
 NYM  12%   1%   44% 
BT MOVEMENTS

 MLB HEAD TO HEAD
 Sep 7, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  ATL « 3 Cover: +102 
  NYM 0 Under: 3 
 Tools:   Boxscores  •  Recaps
 Aug 12, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  ATL 5 Over: 11 
  NYM « 6 Cover: +100 
 Tools:   Boxscores  •  Recaps
 Aug 11, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  ATL « 9 Cover: +100 
  NYM 3 Over: 12 
 Tools:   Boxscores  •  Recaps
 Aug 10, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  ATL « 4 Cover: +100 
  NYM 0 Under: 4 
 Tools:   Boxscores  •  Recaps
 Jul 15, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  NYM 1 Under: 7 
  ATL « 6 Cover: +100 
 Tools:   Boxscores  •  Recaps
 Jul 14, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  NYM 7 Over: 15 
  ATL « 8 Cover: +100 
 Tools:   Boxscores  •  Recaps
 Jul 13, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  NYM 5 Over: 12 
  ATL « 7 Cover: +100 
 Tools:   Boxscores  •  Recaps
 Apr 18, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  NYM 6 Over: 20 
  ATL « 14 Cover: +100 
 Tools:   Boxscores  •  Recaps
 Apr 17, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  NYM 3 Over: 12 
  ATL « 9 Cover: +100 
 Tools:   Boxscores  •  Recaps
 Apr 16, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  NYM « 6 Cover: +160 
  ATL 1 Under: 7 
 Tools:   Boxscores  •  Recaps

 MLB PREVIEWS
 Saturday, Sep 8
 
  •  Marlins at Nationals
1:05 PM EDT
  •  Royals at White Sox
4:05 PM EDT
  •  Braves at Mets
4:05 PM EDT
  •  Dodgers at Giants
4:05 PM EDT
  •  Yankees at Orioles
7:05 PM EDT
  •  Rockies at Phillies
7:05 PM EDT
  •  Cubs at Pirates
7:05 PM EDT
  •  Blue Jays at Red Sox
7:10 PM EDT
  •  Indians at Twins
7:10 PM EDT
  •  Astros at Reds
7:10 PM EDT
  •  Rangers at Rays
7:10 PM EDT
  •  Brewers at Cardinals
7:15 PM EDT
  •  Diamondbacks at Padres
8:35 PM EDT
  •  Tigers at Angels
9:05 PM EDT
  •  Athletics at Mariners
9:10 PM EDT
 
 
 
  
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