 returned from a brief stay on the injured list due to a back spasm and breezed through five innings that only help his credentials for the NL Cy Young Award. The left-hander hasn't allowed a home run since Sept. 10 last year.Freeman laced a two-run double and Marcell Ozuna followed with a long two-run homer in the second off Steven Matz (0-5), handed his latest drubbing in a lost season as he came back from shoulder discomfort.Atlanta pounded out 17 hits and opened a four-game lead over second-place Miami, which lost at home to Washington. The Braves have nine games remaining.The most effective pitcher for the Mets was veteran third baseman Todd Frazier, who tossed a 1-2-3 ninth that included a called strikeout of Adam Duvall.New York began the day 1 1/2 games out of the final NL playoff spot.Nine days after setting a National League record for runs since 1900 in a 29-9 romp against the Marlins, the Braves appeared eager to threaten their own mark already as Travis d'Arnaud and Albies each hit a two-run homer in a six-run fourth against Franklyn Kilome. Nick Markakis hit a two-run double.Ronald Acuna Jr. and Austin Riley also went deep for Atlanta. Acuna also doubled and scored three times in the leadoff spot.With the Mets needing a solid start from its ragged rotation to rest an overtaxed bullpen, Matz couldn't deliver in his first start and second appearance since Aug. 15. He gave up hits to the first four batters of the game and needed 76 pitches to get through 2 2/3 innings.New York's past three starters, Jacob deGrom, Seth Lugo and Matz, have combined to give up 15 earned runs and 20 hits in 6 1/3 innings. The Mets rallied to win the previous two games in Philadelphia anyway, but were never in this one at all.LAME DUCK GM?Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said nothing has changed for him on a day-to-day basis and he hasn't spoken with Steve Cohen since Monday's announcement that the billionaire hedge fund manager has agreed to buy the club from the Wilpon and Katz families. The deal is subject to the approval of Major League Baseball owners. Van Wagenen, who reiterated he doesn't think about his own job security, said he and Cohen had a chance to sit down and get to know each other a bit last winter and talk about ideas and philosophies.''I know he's competitive,'' Van Wagenen said.Van Wagenen said his past interactions with Cohen have been positive. Cohen also entered negotiations to buy the Mets last year, but the deal fell apart in February. He bought an 8% limited partnership stake in 2012 for $40 million.On another topic, Van Wagenen said the Mets have had ''preliminary conversations in the past'' about a new contract for Michael Conforto.TRAINER'S ROOMBraves: Fried was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Thursday, and Atlanta optioned RHP Bryse Wilson to its alternate training site.Mets: After leaving Wednesday night's outing in Philadelphia with a right hamstring spasm, deGrom remains day to day. Manager Luis Rojas said the team still has plans for deGrom to make two more starts this season, which would likely require a return by Tuesday. ... 2B Robinson Cano was hit on the left wrist by a 92 mph sinker from Fried in the fourth and removed in the sixth. ... RHP Dellin Betances (right lat tightness) faced hitters Thursday at the alternate site. ''I heard he's doing great,'' Rojas said. ... Kilome, sidelined since Sept. 2 with a split fingernail, was activated from the injured list. INF Luis Guillorme was optioned to the alternate site.UP NEXTBraves: Rookie RHP Ian Anderson (3-0, 1.64 ERA) makes his fifth major league start Saturday night. The 22-year-old Anderson, drafted third overall in 2016, went to high school in Clifton Park, about 170 miles north of Citi Field. But he was a Boston Red Sox fan, like his dad. Anderson said he has two brothers living in New York City, though with no fans permitted at the ballpark because of the coronavirus, his family and friends won't get the chance to see him pitch in person. ''It definitely would be nice to have them down here,'' he said. ''They would all love to be here.'' Mets: Rookie LHP David Peterson (4-2, 4.17 ERA), a first-round pick in 2017, tries to steady New York's reeling rotation. Peterson allowed three runs over six innings and struck out a career-high eight Aug. 2 in a 4-0 loss at Atlanta.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Fried, Matz return to mound for Braves, MetsThe Atlanta Braves are hoping Max Fried's return to the rotation Friday night puts him in position to start a potential playoff opener in 12 days.The New York Mets are hoping Steven Matz's return continues to spark a playoff surge that began percolating in the most unexpected fashion the previous two nights.The Braves will begin their final road series of the regular season by visiting the Mets in the opener of a three-game set between the National League East rivals. Fried (6-0, 1.98 ERA) is scheduled to come off the injured list and oppose Matz (0-4, 8.63), who hasn't appeared in a game since Aug. 29, in a battle of left-handers.The Braves were off Thursday after falling to the host Baltimore Orioles, 5-1, on Wednesday night. The visiting Mets earned a second straight unlikely comeback win Thursday night, when Brandon Nimmo hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the ninth inning of a 10-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.The division-leading Braves (29-21) actually bolstered their playoff seeding during the off day. Atlanta increased its lead over the second-place Miami Marlins to three games by virtue of the Marlins' 5-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox and is 4 1/2 games ahead of the Phillies and the idle Reds, who are in a virtual tie for the final wild-card spot.The cushion allows the Braves to bring back Fried -- who suffered a back injury Sept. 5, when he allowed three runs over five innings and didn't factor into the decision in Atlanta's 10-4 loss to the Washington Nationals -- with the idea of setting him up to start the first game of the best-of-three series on Sept. 30."We didn't want to take him any farther than Friday, because he's ready to go," Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Fried, who entered Thursday tied for third in the NL in ERA. "I think everything will work out fine." Things did not appear as if they would work out fine for the Mets (23-27) when two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom exited after two innings Wednesday due to a sore hamstring and No. 2 starter Seth Lugo blew a 3-0 first-inning lead and was chased after giving up six runs in just 1 2/3 innings Thursday.But the Mets stayed afloat in the playoff race by getting seven innings of one-run relief from a quartet of pitchers as they came back from a 4-0 deficit to earn a 5-4 win Wednesday night before receiving 7 1/3 innings of one-hit, scoreless work from five relievers during the three-run comeback Thursday.New York enters Friday 1 1/2 games behind the Phillies and Reds."Just really proud of this team," Nimmo said. "Had a lot of times where we could have given up and just been like, 'Know what, oh well,' and accepted it. And none of them did." Matz was demoted to the bullpen after posting a 9.00 ERA in his first five starts and went on the injured list Aug. 30, one day after he threw a scoreless inning against the New York Yankees in his lone relief appearance.Fried is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 12 games (seven starts) against the Mets. Matz is 6-2 with a 2.83 ERA in 14 starts against the Braves.--Field Level Media
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