The Atlanta Braves had dropped their first four games against the New York Mets before Tuesday's 9-3 win. Atlanta will go for a series win Wednesday afternoon. Following Tuesday's win, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez talked about the Mets and how their approach at the plate wears on opposing pitchers.
"You've got to play them 13 more times. They play us tough. They can hit. Murphy and Thole and Wright is on fire. They give you good at-bats all the time. I've never seen those guys, even in spring training, give you a bad at-bat. Even there at the end against Medlen, Thole had a 11, 12-pitch at-bat. He battles. They wear you down pitching wise."
The Braves took a similar approach on Tuesday as they battled Mets starter Johan Santana leading to the shortest outing of his career. Freddie Freeman saw an 11-pitch at-bat in the second inning when the Braves exploded for five runs and chased Santana from the game. Its an approach that would do the Braves well to copy and it certainly worked out for them on Tuesday night.
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