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Green's decisive hit lifts Mets over Braves
2007-09-13
The New York Mets squeezed out a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, the National League East leaders scoring the decisive run on Shawn Green's tie-breaking single in the eighth inning. The 10th win in 12 contests increased New York's division lead to seven games, a position that Green is comfortable with. "We're in great shape right now," the right fielder told reporters. "For the rest of the way, we're in the driver's seat." Green, who went 3-for-4, broke a 3-3 tie with his single to right-center field that scored Carlos Beltran. Beltran singled to lead off the eighth inning, stole second and moved to third on Moises Alou's groundout. "That was the perfect play," Beltran added. "I was trying to be aggressive but at the same time I wanted to be smart." New York had enjoyed a 3-1 lead before Atlanta rallied to tie the game in the top of the eighth on Jeff Francoeur's two-run single off winner Guillermo Mota (2-1). Mets starter John Maine struck out five and walked three. He allowed three hits over six innings. John Smoltz started for Atlanta. He went six innings, striking out eight while giving up six hits and two runs. *Mike Holliday hit into a triple play in the first inning, but made amends with a three-run homer in the third as the Colorado Rockies crushed the Philadelphia Phillies 12-0. The Phillies' triple play came off Holliday's hard hit ball which Philadelphia third baseman Greg Dobbs caught. Dobbs then threw to second baseman Chase Utley for the second out and Utley tagged Troy Tulowitzki who had been on first to complete the rare play. *Ryan Theriot drove in two runs and Rich Hill pitched a three-hitter for seven-plus innings as the Chicago Cubs gained a share of first place with Milwaukee in the National League Central Division with a 3-2 road win over the Houston Astros. *The Pittsburgh Pirates scored three runs in the eighth inning to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-4. Ronny Paulino singled in the go-ahead run and Josh Phelps added a two-run triple for the Pirates. *Edwin Encarnacion homered and drove in three runs as the Cincinnati Reds handed the St Louis Cardinals their sixth straight loss, a 5-1 setback. *Todd Linden's 12th inning single led the Florida Marlins to a 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals.
Big deal: Angels acquire 1B Teixeira from Braves (2008-07-29)7 NL teams chasing 4 playoff spots (2007-09-28)Green's decisive hit lifts Mets over Braves (2007-09-13)Glavine defeats Smoltz as Mets sweep (2007-09-02)Smoltz sets Braves strikeout record (2007-08-20)
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