The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets are still working out their pitching rotations as injuries have struck early. The Braves debuted Aaron Harang in their season opening series and the signing appears to be paying off so far. The Mets brought in Bartolo Colon and that yielded different results. Now the two pitchers will look to follow up with impressive performances as Atlanta celebrates their home opener.
Harang joined the Braves after both Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy were lost for the season. Last season, Harang posted the fourth highest ERA at 5.40. However, he was an entirely different pitch in his Atlanta debut, not allowing a hit until the seventh innings as the Braves got a 1-0 win. He has experience with the Mets and against them. The pitcher is 0-4 with a 3.52 ERA against New York while he posted a 5.66 ERA in 10 starts as a member of the Mets.
Colon's start was not nearly as impressive. The pitcher went six innings, giving up nine hits and three runs in the 5-1 loss to the Nationals. He failed to get any help from the offense as the Mets had three hits the entire game. Colon is undefeated against the Braves, going 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA, but Mets fans should get too excited over that because it was back in 2002 when Colon was a member of Montreal.
Batting wise, BJ Upton loves Colon. He is 7 for 23 against the pitcher, including a home run. However, so far this season Upton is a disappointing 3-for-25 with 11 strikeouts. David Wright certainly has Harang's number going 11 for 21 against the pitcher. Daniel Murphy and Ruben Tejada are also strong against Harang. Yet, these three this went a combined 0 for 10 against the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend.
