Braves dominate Mets, who are stumbling to All-Star break

The way the Mets have been sputtering of late, the All-Star break may have never seemed so appealing. Maybe the three days of downtime is exactly what this struggling team - and the injured Jose Reyes - needs.

Nothing good came out of the Mets' 4-0 loss to the Braves Saturday at Citi Field, a troublesome theme lately.

First-half ace Mike Pelfrey struggled for the third straight start. The Mets' offense, which has been so resilient this season, was a no-show against Tim Hudson. And, most frustrating of all, Reyes had to be removed in the seventh inning because of his bothersome oblique muscle.

Suddenly, these are not good times for the Mets, a decided shift from their otherwise positive first half. They've lost three straight at home for the first time this season and have dropped 10 of 16 overall.

Just two weeks ago, they were a half-game out of the National League East lead. But if they lose Sunday, they'll enter the break six games behind the Braves. They haven't been that far back since May 22.

"It's not good," David Wright said. "They pitched better than us today. They hit better than us today. They played better defense. They came out and beat us in every area of the game.

"It's something where we're going to have to rebound and take this game tomorrow going into the break because we're not playing very good baseball right now in any area. Before we get to the All-Star break, we want to play some good baseball tomorrow."

The Mets will have Johan Santana on the mound this afternoon, and he's coming off Tuesday's shutout against the Reds. It's not hard for the Mets to remember that game. Of the five games on this homestand, it's the only one they've won.

For the Mets to have a chance Sunday, though, Santana certainly will have to pitch better than Pelfrey did Saturday. He allowed four runs and 12 hits - all singles - in four-plus innings, marking the third straight game in which he failed to get through the fifth.

With a 10.66 ERA during his three-game skid, Pelfrey has looked nothing like the pitcher who seemed like a shoo-in for the All-Star Game a few weeks ago. He plans to spend the break at home, decompressing from a suddenly bumpy stretch. Asked if the break is coming at a good time for him, Pelfrey deadpanned, "It could have come a few starts ago."

Pelfrey struggled with his command and the Braves took advantage, putting at least two runners on base in each of his innings. He successfully pitched out of jams in the first four, holding the Braves scoreless and stranding eight baserunners. But he wasn't as lucky in the fifth.

The Braves began the inning with five straight singles and knocked Pelfrey out of the game. Up 2-0 with the bases loaded and nobody out against Elmer Dessens, the Braves scored another run when Yunel Escobar grounded into a double play. Hudson capped the four-run inning with an RBI double.

The Mets, meanwhile, didn't give their pitchers any offensive support. They managed only four hits against Hudson (seven innings), Jonny Venters and Billy Wagner. Angel Pagan had three of the hits.

Players tried to look at the bright side. Said Rod Barajas: "We're still in a better position than a lot of people expected."