By far the matchup of the night Thursday in Major League Baseball is in Atlanta, where Johan Santana starts for the Mets against the Braves' Tim Hudson; New York is a -133 money line betting favorite (over/under: 8) on WagerWeb.com.
The Mets need a win big-time, as they have dropped three straight to the Braves in this series and are in danger of falling below .500 for the first time since April 9. Plus there's all the off-field distractions surrounding the club, from manager Willie Randolph's vent against the New York fans and the Mets' TV network to Pedro Martinez's flip-flop on retiring after this year.
However, at least the Mets send out their ace in Santana (5-2, 3.30 ERA). Santana is 4-0 with a 3.43 ERA over his last six starts, and defeated the Yankees in the Bronx on Saturday, holding them to four runs and seven hits in 7 2/3 innings. He did, however, allow three home runs, increasing his season total to 11 in only 60 innings.
Santana is 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA in six road starts this season; he lost to Atlanta on April 6 at Turner Field, allowing just a run and seven hits in seven innings and is 0-2 with a 2.41 ERA in three career starts against the Braves.
Atlanta's Matt Diaz is 7-for-12 with a home run against him, Chipper Jones is 3-for-7, Brian McCann is 2-or-6 with a homer, and Mark Teixeira is 4-for-20 with a homer.Atlanta is 19-5 at home and has won four in a row overall; the Braves are 5-0 vs. the Mets this season at Turner Field.
Braves starter Tim Hudson (6-3, 3.06) will try to regroup from his worst outing of the season and win for the fourth time in five starts. The right-hander was reached for a season-high five runs and gave up two homers in five innings of a 5-4 defeat to Oakland on Sunday after going 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA in his previous three starts.
Hudson has faced the Mets twice this season and is 1-1 with a 7.00 ERA; he is 8-5 with a 3.96 ERA through 14 career appearances against the Mets. Hudson is also 4-1 with a 2.94 earned run average in five road tilts.
The Mets' Carlos Delgado is 17-for-55 (.309) with six homers against Hudson, while Carlos Beltran is 19-for-56 (.339) with three homers. Moises Alou is 7-for-17 with a homer.
The Mets also could get outfielder Ryan Church back tonight. A CT scan of his head revealed no damage from a collision with Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar on the final play of Tuesday's doubleheader.
The Mets still plan on being cautious with Church, but he leads the team in batting average (.311), slugging percentage (.534) and home runs (nine).
"He's going to have to really convince me that he can go," Randolph said.
Meanwhile, the Braves' bullpen could be getting a major boost within the next two weeks. John Smoltz, Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez all could return by then from the DL.
"They're all three pretty close now," manager Bobby aCox said.
Betting trends: Mets are 1-4 in their last 5 games vs. a right-handed starter. . Mets are 6-0 in Santana's last 6 starts. . Braves are 4-0 in their last 4 home games vs. a left-handed starter. . Braves are 1-4 in Hudson's last 5 starts as an underdog. . Under is 21-5-1 in Braves' last 27 games following a win... Under is 10-2 in the last 12 meetings in Atlanta.
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