NEW YORK —
Chipper Jones and the Braves got the better of the Mets one more time.
Brian McCann homered and drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning to give Atlanta its fifth straight win, 3-2 Sunday in Jones’ final game against the Mets in New York.
Jones did not start, but manager Fredi Gonzalez sent him out with the lineup card before the game and the retiring Braves star got a warm hand from the Mets crowd. Then the umpires got in on the lovefest, posing for a picture with the slugger.
Jones walked as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning and left for a pinch runner.
As he walked to the dugout, Mets fans stood in tribute as they got their last glimpse of a most worthy adversary.
The 40-year-old Jones took off his batting helmet and raised it to the fans, only a few of whom could be heard booing. Jones had spent nearly two games beating the Mets, and surely their fans were glad to see him go.
Pinch runner Reed Johnson made it to third before Michael Bourn struck out, flinging his bat and helmet in rage after the inning ended.
Martin Prado led off the 10th with a single against Bobby Parnell (4-4). After Jason Heyward grounded out, Freddie Freeman was intentionally walked. Dan Uggla worked a walk base on balls before McCann hit a sacrifice fly.
Peter Moylan pitched the bottom half of the inning for his first save of the season. Craig Kimbrel (1-1) pitched a scoreless ninth for the NL wild-card leaders.
Braves reliever Eric O’Flaherty got David Wright to ground out on a full count with two outs in the bottom of the eighth and runners on first and third.
Braves starter Tommy Hanson remained winless in five starts since a victory over Miami on July 30. He’s 0-3 since then and has only made it out of the sixth inning in one of those starts.
Hanson’s day ended when Wright hit a double into the left-field corner to tie it at 2 in the sixth. It started off with much more promise — Hanson retired the first 10 batters he faced.
McCann led off the sixth with his 20th home run for a 2-1 lead.
The Mets took the lead on Ike Davis’ RBI single in the fourth, but Atlanta answered when Bourn singled home Jose Constanza in the fifth.
Mets starter Chris Young allowed five hits and four walks in six innings, striking out seven. He is 0-4 in seven starts at Citi Field this season.
NOTES: Jones will get another chance to torment the Mets. The Braves host them in a series later this month. ... Wright is set to visit a New York firehouse to remember Sept. 11 for the eighth year in a row. On Monday, he plans to visit Squad 18 in Greenwich Village, along with Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano.
Local Sports
Related Photos
-
Fans hold posters and cheer for Atlanta Braves' Chipper Jones (10) as he walks off the field after being replaced for a pinch runner in the ninth inning of Sunday’s game at Citi Field in New York. Jones is retiring after the season and it was his last game at Citi Field.
Discussion
Jones gets farewell from Mets fans, Braves win
- Local Sports
-
-
Blazers fall to Molloy in eight innings
With only one out remaining and trailing by three, the Molloy Lions strung together four hits to plate three runs in the seventh followed by another run in the eighth inning to defeat Valdosta State’s softball team 5-4 in the first round of the 2013 Division II Softball National Championship Tournament on Thursday in Salem, Va.
-
Albritton, Johnson earn All-America honors
Valdosta State softball players Courtney Albritton and Morgan Johnson gathered multiple All-America honors late Wednesday night.
-
Golfers take course for Wounded Warriors
Local patrons participated in the Wounded Warrior Project Golf Tournament at Stone Creek Golf Club in Valdosta on Thursday.
-
Valwood football hosting 4-man scramble golf tourney
Head coach Ashley Henderson and the Valwood football team will be hosting a 4-man scramble golf tournament at Valdosta Country Club Friday, June 14.
-
VHS football cheerleaders to host Junior Cheer Camp
The Valdosta High School football cheerleaders will be hosting a Junior Cheer Camp June 5 through June 7 at the W.G. Nunn Elementary School gymnasium.
-
Gillespie, McPherson pleased with spring practices
Valdosta’s Rance Gillespie and Lowndes’ Randy McPherson both think their football teams got better during the recent 10 days of spring practice.
Then again, both coaches know their teams have a ways to go before the start of the football season. -
Signing day at VHS
It was signing day galore at Valdosta High School Wednesday.
Six student-athletes signed national letter of intents to compete at the next level, while two VHS athletes both signed academic scholarships to Division I universities. -
Powell signs with Shorter
Robert Powell, a member of the basketball team on South Georgia State College’s Waycross Campus, has signed a letter of intent to continue his basketball career at Shorter University in Rome.
-
Sending the Blazers off
The Valdosta State softball team made the long journey to Salem, Va. Tuesday, leaving Valdosta at 10:30 a.m. with devoted fans cheering them out of the parking lot.
-
All-Region teams announced
Lowndes was one win away from a trip to the Class AAAAAA state semifinals, and the success by the Vikings this season showed when the All-Region 1 baseball teams were announced Monday.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
