 allowed five hits, one run and two walks in seven innings. He struck out seven while topping his personal mark of 14 victories in 2015.Needing just 4 2/3 innings to reach 200 for the first time in his career, deGrom will likely cross that threshold with two more starts slated for this season.''The plan for next year is that everybody's hopefully healthy and to go to a World Series again, so getting this amount of innings is something that I want to do in the next few years,'' he said. ''Getting there and seeing what it's like is definitely a big plus for me.'' The Mets had lost eight straight on the road and had just four wins in their last 18 games away from Citi Field, but they led 5-0 by the fourth inning.Cecchini and Juan Lagares had RBI singles in the second, Brandon Nimmo and Asdrubal Cabrera had RBI doubles in the third and Cecchini doubled again in the fourth.Freddie Freeman hit his 27th homer for Atlanta to make it 5-1 in the sixth, but the Mets tacked on two more runs in the seventh on Smith's two-run double.The Braves had won seven of nine but they couldn't overcome a third straight poor start by R. A. Dickey (9-10). The 42-year-old knuckleballer is 0-2 with a 10.05 ERA since beating Philadelphia on Aug. 30.Smith went 2 for 4 and is hitting .315 with 14 RBIs in 15 games this month. Cabrera is hitting .408 over his last 21 games.Following an eight-start winning streak that ended on July 29, deGrom went 2-6 with a 4.45 ERA over his last nine starts, but he improved to 5-3 with a 2.19 ERA in 11 career starts against the Braves.''He had the backdoor slider working, was throwing 97-98-99 mph,'' Freeman said. ''He was on tonight.'' The Mets are 17-13 when deGrom pitches. New York doesn't have a winning record with any other starter this season.''Tonight I felt like my mechanics were the closest to where I want them to be and I was able to field some ground balls back at me,'' deGrom said. ''Normally those are getting past me. I wasn't falling off as much, and I think things are starting to fall in place where I want them.'' A. J. Ramos gave up two runs in the ninth on Lane Adams' single.TRAINER'S ROOMMets: Collins said RHP Noah Syndergaard, sidelined since April 30 with a torn lat muscle, might not return until next week. The team had earlier hoped Syndergaard would be able to pitch against the Braves, but that was scrapped after he was examined Saturday by the team medical staff. He threw a bullpen session with no restrictions on Thursday.Braves: LF Matt Kemp was out of the lineup with a sore left hamstring, an injury that's bothered him frequently in the second half of the season. Manager Brian Snitker indicated it's too early to tell if Kemp will play again this year. Atlanta has 15 games remaining.UP NEXTMets: RHP Robert Gsellman (6-7, 5.58 ERA) has had plenty of success in day games, going 3-2 with a 1.88 ERA in six starts and two relief appearances.Braves: RHP Julio Teheran (11-11, 4.57 ERA) will try to win his fifth straight start. In 19 career starts and one relief appearance against the Mets, Teheran is 8-4 with a 2.56 ERA.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Mets' deGrom goes for 15th win vs. Braves 2h ago• 2 min read ATLANTA -- After missing the final month of 2016, Jacob deGrom's goal for 2017 was to pitch 200 innings.The New York Mets' lone projected starter healthy all season is nearing that milestone and rivaling the success he had in 2015 before elbow issues.DeGrom (14-9, 3.63 ERA) has worked 188 1/3 innings going into his 30th start of the season Saturday night against the Atlanta Braves and has struck out 221 -- second in the National League.DeGrom will be matched against veteran knuckleballer R. A. Dickey (9-9, 4.28 ERA) and both pitchers have fared well against the opponent.Dickey, who won the National League Cy Young Award for the Mets in 2012, is 4-0 with a 2.97 ERA against his former team, including two victories this year.DeGrom is 4-3 with a 2.29 ERA against the Braves, beating them once this season.DeGrom, who had surgery to reposition the ulnar nerve on his right elbow last September, won eight straight starts during a stretch in June and July, putting himself in Cy Young Award consideration.The 29-year-old right-hander has gone 2-6 since, though, and gave up a career-worst nine runs (six earned) against the Philadelphia Phillies in 3 2/3 innings on Sept. 5 before bouncing back against the Cincinnati Reds last Sunday.DeGrom struck out 10 in six innings against the Reds in a no-decision, getting his 10th double-figure strikeout game of the season. Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden are the only other Mets to reach double figures, with Dwight Gooden doing it a record 15 times in 1984.The meltdown against the Phillies still stuck with deGrom, though."No excuses. I was just terrible," deGrom said."Anytime Jake's pitching and he loses it, it's a surprise," Mets manager Terry Collins said.Dickey is coming off two rough outings, both at home. He gave up seven runs (six earned) in 4 1/3 innings against the Texas Rangers and then five runs in five innings against the Miami Marlins.Dickey's biggest failing at home has been homers. He has surrendered 16 at SunTrust Park compared with eight on the road."I think it's just the ebb and flow of the knuckleball pretty much," Braves manager Brian Snitker said of the discrepancy, dismissing the ballpark factor. "Some days it's better than others." The Mets still hope to get Noah Syndergaard in a game before the end of the season and that could happen soon.Syndergaard, out since the beginning of May because of a partial tear of his right lat muscle, threw at full speed in a bullpen side session Thursday."We'll see how he is and then make the next step, whether it's another bullpen or use him in a game," Collins said.Syndergaard, a 14-game winner with a 2.60 ERA and 218 strikeouts in 2016, was 1-2 with a 3.29 ERA in five games before the injury and made two rehab starts in early September before the minor league season came to an end for Mets farm teams.The manager was asked if Syndergaard might make his return in a relief role."I don't know, but we would limit the workload," Collins said. "Make no mistake, when he pitches, there's not going to be a lot of pitches thrown. This is to make sure he's OK."
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