Atlanta Braves at New York Mets preview: Ervin Santana day

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Ervin Santana (30) waits for a new baseball after giving up a home run to Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (not pictured) in the second inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The pitching staff for the Atlanta Braves has been utterly ridiculous in recent days, as veteran right-hander Aaron Harang nearly tossed a no-hitter in blanking the New York Mets on Friday night to add on to the recent stellar showings from Alex Wood and Julio Teheran. Now, the Braves square off with the Mets once again, and this time, they have a defined pitching advantage, even on paper.

Ervin Santana has been a revelation in his short time in Atlanta, allowing 1 run in 14 innings over 2 starts with the Braves. His strikeout rate has been off the charts (more than 10 K’s per 9 innings) and while that is likely to stabilize a bit, the Mets aren’t exactly a murderer’s row for Santana to worry about. New York did have a bit of an offensive breakout in sweeping the D-Backs earlier this week, but on a match-up basis, Braves fans should feel quite good about “Big Erv” in this spot.

On the other side, Bartolo Colon has been a mess for the Mets. Atlanta’s fans may disagree on the surface, seeing as the 40-year-old ate the Braves up to the tune of 7 shutout innings earlier in the season, but overall, his ERA is at 6.00 (including that start!) and his arsenal isn’t terrifying. It will be interesting to see if Jason Heyward, who will presumably return to the lineup against the right-handed Colon, can bounce back and if BJ Upton can continue his mild resurgence, but as a unit, this is a good match-up offensively.

Here is a look at the particulars for Friday:

Date: April 19, 2014

Start Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV Channel: Fox Sports South

Radio: 680 AM/106.7 FM (Local in Atlanta), Full list of Local Affiliates

Live Stream: MLB.tv (Click Here, $)

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