• Nieve has lost his three most recent starts, but his performance has improved in each of the last two. He surrendered two home runs against the Reds Friday night. Home runs once were a bugaboo for him — 20 in 107 innings before this season. He has started once against the Braves, in 2006, and he won, pitching into the eighth inning. He has three other appearances against them, all in ‘06. Nieve’s ERA on the road, 4.08, is more than twice his ERA at Citi Field. Left-handed hitters are batting merely .205 in 78 at-bats against him; their righ-thanded-hitting brethren are batting .357 in 56 at-bats. Go figure.
• Fernando Nieve (3-3, 3.03 ERA) will take his turn in the Mets’ rotation Sunday. The right-hander has lost his last three starts, getting a total of one run of offensive backing during that stretch. He allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings as New York lost 3-0 to Cincinnati on July 10. Nieve is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in one start and three relief appearances versus the Braves. Atlanta will be looking to bounce back after going 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position in its second loss in six games. The Braves scored a combined 23 runs in their previous three contests. Atlanta’s Nate McLouth is in an 0-for-15 slump, and has batted .190 (12 for 63) at Turner Field this season.
• Luis Castillo has had more success against Vazquez than any other Met, batting .343 (24 for 70). The second baseman has been New York’s hottest hitter over the last two weeks, going 12 for 29 (.414) in his last nine games.

• Along with teammate Jair Jurrjens, Vazquez was the victim of bad luck and little run support in the first half of the season. Despite a sub-3.00 ERA, Vazquez enters the second half with a losing effort. Vazquez missed his final start of the first half against the Rockies with a strained lower abdominal muscle. The injury had provided Vazquez with discomfort for about a month, but the Puerto Rico native was able to pitch brilliantly anyway. Against the Mets on May 4, Vazquez had one of his roughest outings of the season. He allowed six earned runs in 6 2/3 innings.
• Javier Vazquez would certainly like to see a breakout game from McLouth and the rest of the lineup. The right-hander is 2-3 over his last eight starts despite a 1.96 ERA. Atlanta has given him an average of 1.8 runs to work with over that span. The Braves lineup did just enough to help Vazquez earn a win in a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on July 7. He gave up one run and five hits while striking out six in seven innings. Vazquez is 8-8 with a 3.47 ERA in 22 starts versus New York.

Lets go for the split!

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