While the New York Mets finished the last series on a down note, they're still 7-5 in June and 6-3 in their past nine games. The .500 mark remains elusive; whenever they get within one game of it, they lose and make it two games under the break-even point.
Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves, the Mets send a pitcher on a roll to the mound. Jon Niese is 5-5 on the year with a 3.51 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. In his past five starts, he's allowed a combined total of five earned runs, and won three of those outings. Two starts ago against the Braves, he threw 7 2/3 innings and allowed two earned runs and struckout seven. Lately, his 12-to-6 curveball has been superb, using it as a go-to strikeout pitch.
Despite losing to the Houston Astros yesterday, the Braves are a team that's streaking. Prior to that loss, they won six straight games. They've got a lot of young pitching, but their best -- statistically speaking -- is Jair Jurrjens and he takes the hill tonight with a 1.82 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. He's 8-2 on the season. He won't overpower you or strikeout a lot of guys, but he just understands how to get the job done and get hitters off balance.