After finally winning a series over the weekend (albeit to the Washington Nationals) and clinching 4th place in the NL East, the Mets look to build off this rare momentum against the Atlanta Braves in this three game set. The Mets have not had a winning streak of longer than 2 games since winning 5 in a row July 25-30th. Meanwhile, winners of 8 of their last 10 games, the Braves are still holding out some hope in the playoff chase. They are 5.5 games behind the Colorado Rockies for the Wild Card. They have a 2.8% chance of making the postseason as their tragic number to elimination stands at 8. The Braves lead the season series 10-5 and hold a 4-2 mark at Citi Field.

Just for Fun Tracker: The Mets currently stand to get the #6 overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft. The Magic Number to clinch a top-10 spot stands at 8.


Pitching Matchups for this series:

Tonight: Derek Lowe (14-9 4.53 ERA) vs. Pat Misch (1-3 4.21 ERA)
Lowe's last start (ND 6-5 vs. NYM): 2IP, 3R (2ER), 5H, 2BB, 2K
Career vs. NYM: 2-3 7.96 ERA, 1.99 WHIP, .364 BAA in 12 games (6 starts)
Road this season: 8-6 5.07 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, .310 BAA in 15 games (all starts)
Misch's last start (L 0-6 @ ATL): 5IP, 4ER, 8H, BB
Career vs. ATL: 0-1 4.91 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, .366 BAA in 5 games (1 start)
Home this season: 0-2 5.49 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, .243 BAA in 11 games (1 start)

Tuesday: Jair Jurrjens (12-10 2.75 ERA) vs. Nelson Figueroa (2-6 5.21 ERA)
Jurrjens' last start (W 7-3 vs. NYM): 7IP, 2R (ER), 6H, 2BB, 5K
Career vs. NYM: 5-1 2.62 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, .220 BAA in 7 games (all starts)
Road this season: 6-4 2.86 ERA, 1.28 ERA, .262 BAA in 15 games (all starts)
Figueroa's last start (L 3-7 @ ATL): 5IP, 6ER, 9H, BB, 4K
Career vs. ATL: 2-1 5.11 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, .283 BAA in 11 games (4 starts)
Home this season: 1-3 6.66 ERA, 1.89 WHIP, .362 BAA in 8 games (3 starts)

Wednesday: Tim Hudson (1-1 3.70 ERA) vs. Mike Pelfrey (10-11 5.10 ERA)
Hudson's last start (L 4-9 vs. PHI): 7IP, 3ER, 6H, BB, 3K
Career vs. NYM: 9-5 3.82 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, .260 BAA in 15 games (all starts)
Road this season: 1-0 5.23 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, .356 BAA in 2 games (both starts)
Pelfrey's last start (L 5-6 vs. WAS): 7IP, 5R (4ER), 8H, 4K
Career vs. ATL: 2-4 6.29 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .277 BAA in 9 games (8 starts)
Home this season: 6-4 3.67 ERA, 1.31 ERA, .267 BAA in 16 games (all starts)

Do the Mets have what it takes to spoil the Braves' faint playoff hopes, or will the Braves use the Mets as a springboard once again? Stay tuned.