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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ATLANTA (AP) -- Barry Larkin could soon be wearing a New York
uniform. Unfortunately for the Mets, it probably won't be in time
to help them solve the Turner Field jinx this weekend.
Brian Jordan drove in three runs, John Burkett pitched 4 1/3
innings of scoreless relief and the Atlanta Braves beat New York
6-3 Friday night, their 17th victory in the last 18 home games
against the Mets.
"I'm not quite sure as to why," said Mets starter Al Leiter,
who has never won in Atlanta. "They're a good baseball team and we
haven't played as well as we would have liked to at Turner Field."
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It's been brutal
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The Mets are 1-15 against the Braves in Atlanta over the last two years. Below is a rundown of their futility:
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Date
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Score
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Result
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7/21/00
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6-3
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Loss
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10/19/99
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10-9
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Loss
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10/13/99
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4-3
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Loss
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10/12/99
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4-2
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Loss
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9/23/99
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6-3
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Loss
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9/22/99
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5-2
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Loss
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9/21/99
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2-1
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Loss
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6/27/99
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1-0
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Loss
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6/26/99
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7-2
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Loss
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6/25/99
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10-2
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Win
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9/27/98
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7-2
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Loss
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9/26/98
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4-0
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Loss
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9/25/98
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6-5
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Loss
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7/5/98
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3-2
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Loss
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7/4/98
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4-1
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Loss
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7/3/98
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3-2
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Loss
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At home, the Braves are 14-1 against New York during the regular
season since September 1997. They won three more games at The Ted
during last year's memorable NL Championship Series, and the Mets'
woes even extended to this year's All-Star Game -- Leiter was
charged with the loss.
"It may look like we have an edge on them," Chipper Jones
said, "but that could change overnight."
Especially if Larkin accepts a trade to the Mets, who fell six
games behind Atlanta in the NL East. New York has worked out a
trade with Cincinnati for the All-Star shortstop, who hasn't
decided if he will accept the deal.
The Mets hope to begin talks with Larkin on Saturday.
"Barry Larkin would make a difference with any team," Jordan
said. "Maybe we'll put in a couple of calls to him and get him to
veto it."
The Mets players learned of the proposed Larkin trade just
before the first pitch.
|  | | Andruw Jones slides past Mike Piazza's tag to score on an error by Mets third baseman Lenny Harris in the third inning. |
"Barry's a great player, but he's not here yet," New York
manager Bobby Valentine said. "He definitely won't be here
tomorrow. And I'd like to win the baseball game tomorrow."
Burkett (7-4), dropped from the rotation when Atlanta traded for
Andy Ashby during the All-Star break, came on in the third inning
after starter Terry Mulholland gave up four hits and three runs.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Burkett got Melvin Mora on a
flyout to center. The Braves right-hander wound up facing the
minimum during his stint on the mound, giving up his lone hit to Lenny Harris leading off the fourth. He was erased on a double
play.
"I think I can help out," Burkett said. "It's good to get one
as a middle reliever."
Mike Remlinger worked two innings for his eighth save as the
Braves' bullpen surrendered just two runners over the last 6 1/3
innings.
Leiter started Game 6 of the NLCS, but failed to retire a batter
while Atlanta built a 5-0 lead. New York came back for a pair of
one-run leads before the Braves won 10-9 in the 11th inning,
sending them to the World Series.
Once again, Leiter (10-4) ran into early trouble Friday. Rafael
Furcal and Andruw Jones led off with back-to-back singles and moved
up on a double steal while Chipper Jones was striking out. Jordan
followed with a two-run single to center.
The Mets bounced back for a 3-2 lead in the third. Joe McEwing
and Jay Payton had RBI singles against Mulholland, who surrendered
another run on a wild pitch that skipped in front of the plate
after bouncing off catcher Javy Lopez.
The Braves quickly reclaimed the lead in the bottom half. Andruw
Jones singled with one out and moved to third on Chipper Jones' double. Jordan grounded to third baseman Harris, who threw home
wildly in a futile attempt to get Andruw Jones.
The ball flew by catcher Mike Piazza, allowing Chipper Jones to
move over to third. He scored an unearned run on Andres Galarraga's
grounder to short, pushing the Braves to a 4-3 lead before a
towel-waving sellout crowd of 49,313.
Leiter allowed only one more hit during his six-inning stint,
but it was costly. After striking out the first two hitters in the
sixth, he served up a chest-high pitch to Lopez that wound up in
the left-field stands for his 15th homer of the season.
"I'm not near as upset with the first four runs as I am with
Javy's homer," Leiter said. "The first four runs are just things
that happen in a game. Javy is hot. There was no reason to throw
him a pitch like that."
Chipper Jones drove in Atlanta's final run with an eighth-inning
single against Rich Rodriguez.
Atlanta now holds the upper hand over the Mets in the season
series. The teams split four games during an emotional series at
Shea Stadium on June 29-July 2, which marked John Rocker's return
to New York after a magazine article in which he disparaged the
city, along with gays, minorities and homosexuals.
Rocker was warming up in the ninth but didn't pitch.
Game notes
Leiter dropped to 0-3 lifetime at Turner Field, where he
has a 6.06 ERA in three appearances. Overall, Leiter is 5-6 against
the Braves. ... In addition to having two hits, Chipper Jones made
a brilliant diving stop on a grounder by Todd Zeile, throwing out
the Mets hitter to end the eighth.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
NY Mets Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
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