ATLANTA — Kyle Davies dominated the New York Mets with his arm — and his bat.
The Braves starter pitched eight strong innings Tuesday night and turned the game into a rout with a three-run homer over the center-field wall, leading Atlanta past the Mets 8-1 and tightening the race in the NL East.
Davies allowed only six hits, but his biggest splash came in the sixth. The .096 career hitter drove a 3-1 fastball from Aaron Sele over the 400-foot sign, clearing the wall with plenty to spare.
Over the last two years, Davies has been all or nothing at the plate. He went 1-for-23 in 2006, the only hit being a homer. His three-run drive off Sele snapped an 0-for-13 start to this season.
Davies didn’t look all that pumped up about his latest homer, calmly circling the bases with his head down. There wasn’t even a smile when he touched home and was congratulated by teammates Andruw Jones and Willie Harris.
The Braves returned home from a 4-6 road trip that dropped them from first to second behind the Mets, who had surged to the league’s best record by winning nine of 12.
Atlanta closed to within 1 1/2 games of the division lead by knocking around one of its former starters. Jorge Sosa (3-1) surrendered six hits, walked three and was charged with five runs during his four-inning stint.
The Braves scored two runs apiece in the second and third, then Scott Thorman hit a 1-2 pitch deep into the right-field stands in the fourth. Shawn Green didn’t even bother turning around as the ball landed midway up in the lower deck.
Handed the big lead, Davies (2-2) put together another strong start to solidify his spot in the Braves’ thin rotation. Before the game, Atlanta cut struggling left-hander Mark Redman and will likely dip into the minors this weekend for another candidate for the fifth slot.
Davies struggled through the first month, going 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA. But the right-hander has pitched much better in May, having lasted at least 6 2-3 innings in three of four appearances while lowering his ERA to 4.47.
He allowed only two hits through the first four innings, and one of them was erased with a double play. By then, the Braves had already roughed up Sosa, who went 13-3 with a 2.55 ERA for the Braves in 2005 but was dumped the following year.
After starting this season at New York’s Triple-A team in New Orleans, Sosa was recalled at the start of the month and won his first three starts, lasting at least 6 1-3 innings in each of them.
He got off to another good start against his old team, striking out Edgar Renteria and Chipper Jones in the first.
The Braves starter pitched eight strong innings Tuesday night and turned the game into a rout with a three-run homer over the center-field wall, leading Atlanta past the Mets 8-1 and tightening the race in the NL East.
Davies allowed only six hits, but his biggest splash came in the sixth. The .096 career hitter drove a 3-1 fastball from Aaron Sele over the 400-foot sign, clearing the wall with plenty to spare.
Over the last two years, Davies has been all or nothing at the plate. He went 1-for-23 in 2006, the only hit being a homer. His three-run drive off Sele snapped an 0-for-13 start to this season.
Davies didn’t look all that pumped up about his latest homer, calmly circling the bases with his head down. There wasn’t even a smile when he touched home and was congratulated by teammates Andruw Jones and Willie Harris.
The Braves returned home from a 4-6 road trip that dropped them from first to second behind the Mets, who had surged to the league’s best record by winning nine of 12.
Atlanta closed to within 1 1/2 games of the division lead by knocking around one of its former starters. Jorge Sosa (3-1) surrendered six hits, walked three and was charged with five runs during his four-inning stint.
The Braves scored two runs apiece in the second and third, then Scott Thorman hit a 1-2 pitch deep into the right-field stands in the fourth. Shawn Green didn’t even bother turning around as the ball landed midway up in the lower deck.
Handed the big lead, Davies (2-2) put together another strong start to solidify his spot in the Braves’ thin rotation. Before the game, Atlanta cut struggling left-hander Mark Redman and will likely dip into the minors this weekend for another candidate for the fifth slot.
Davies struggled through the first month, going 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA. But the right-hander has pitched much better in May, having lasted at least 6 2-3 innings in three of four appearances while lowering his ERA to 4.47.
He allowed only two hits through the first four innings, and one of them was erased with a double play. By then, the Braves had already roughed up Sosa, who went 13-3 with a 2.55 ERA for the Braves in 2005 but was dumped the following year.
After starting this season at New York’s Triple-A team in New Orleans, Sosa was recalled at the start of the month and won his first three starts, lasting at least 6 1-3 innings in each of them.
He got off to another good start against his old team, striking out Edgar Renteria and Chipper Jones in the first.
