NEW YORK METS (36-29, second place/NL East) vs. ATLANTA BRAVES (20-46, fifth place/NL East)
Friday: RHP Matt Harvey (4-8, 4.66) vs. RHP John Gant (0-1, 5.63), 7:10 p.m. ET
Saturday: LHP Steven Matz (7-3, 2.71) vs. RHP Aaron Blair (0-4, 7.59), 8:15 p.m. ET
Sunday: RHP Jacob deGrom (3-3, 2.82) vs. RHP Julio Teheran (2-7, 2.93), 1:10 p.m. ET
BRAVES SHORT HOPS
Gant was acquired from the Mets with minor league right-hander Rob Whalen a week before last year’s trading deadline in the deal that brought Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe to Queens. Gant allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday in his first major league start. He previously had made seven relief appearances. The Braves are down two regular members of the rotation. Mike Foltynewicz landed on the disabled list on June 4 with bone chips in his right elbow. Four days later, Williams Perez landed on the DL with a strained right rotator cuff. Those injuries resulted in Gant and Bud Norris getting placed in the rotation.
Freddie Freeman became the first player in the majors to hit for the cycle this season when he accomplished the feat on Wednesday. The last Braves player to hit for the cycle had been Mark Kotsay on Aug. 14, 2008. Freeman went 10-for-18 with three homers and six RBIs in a midweek series against the Cincinnati Reds.
Blair, a rookie, is 0-3 with a 10.50 ERA in his past six starts. He has allowed 35 hits, 16 walks and hit three batters in 24 innings during that span. Blair was acquired in the December trade that sent Shelby Miller to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Adonis Garcia departed Thursday’s game in the seventh inning with what was described as mild left-ankle soreness. Garcia has been playing considerably better at third base since returning from Triple-A Gwinnett. He had seven errors in 20 games at third base in April with the Braves before the demotion. Garcia actually played left field while in the minors, but the Braves had a need at third base when he returned to the majors on May 27. Gordon Beckham and Chase d'Arnaud -- Travis d'Arnaud’s brother -- had been sharing third base with Garcia in the minors. Beckham landed back on the disabled list on June 2 with a left hamstring strain.
The Braves fired manager Fredi Gonzalez on May 17 after a 9-28 start to the season. Brian Snitker took over as interim manager. Snitker served as Atlanta’s third-base coach in 2006-13 and had been serving as the Triple-A club’s manager. Gonzalez’s dismissal wasn’t ideally handled: He reportedly received an email from an airline alerting him that a ticket had been purchased for him to fly back to Atlanta. The Braves had not completed their series in Pittsburgh.
Right-hander Tyrell Jenkins may make his major league debut against the Mets this weekend. Jenkins was promoted from Gwinnett on Thursday. He was acquired in the Jason Heyward trade with the St. Louis Cardinals back in November 2014. The 23-year-old Jenkins will work out of the bullpen.
All eight runs Teheran has surrendered in three June starts have come via the long ball. Teheran has allowed six homers in 20 2/3 innings this month.
The Braves promoted left-handed reliever Dario Alvarez on Tuesday. Alvarez was claimed off waivers from the Mets on May 25.
Shortstop Erick Aybar returned from the disabled list on Sunday. He had been sidelined with a bruised right foot, which he suffered getting plunked by a fastball from Miami’s Adam Conley on May 27. Aybar then suffered bruised ribs when he was struck on the right side with a pitch on Monday. It’s been a rough stretch for Aybar. He was scratched from a May 19 game because a chicken bone became stuck in his throat.
METS SHORT HOPS
The ex-Brave Johnson is 8-for-20 with a homer and two RBIs since joining the Mets in a trade for minor league right-hander Akeel Morris. He hit only .215 in 121 at-bats with Atlanta to begin the season.
David Wright underwent surgery on Thursday to repair a herniated disk in his neck. It is unclear whether he will return this season. Backup Wilmer Flores then was struck on the left wrist with a fastball Thursday and departed the game. X-rays were negative. Flores is day-to-day.
Harvey has surrendered only two runs in 20 innings over his last three starts. He has allowed eight hits and three walks while striking out 17 during that stretch. However, the Mets have scored only three runs total in those three games. So Harvey is 1-1 during that stretch.
Neil Walker (lower back) and Michael Conforto (left wrist) returned to the starting lineup Thursday for the first time since Saturday.
