ATLANTA -- The slumping Atlanta Braves were shut down by Jonathon Niese and lost 4-2 to the New York Mets on Saturday night, damaging their flickering playoff hopes. Jihad Ward Jersey . Atlanta has lost seven of eight to drop to 4-13 in September. Any combination of two Pittsburgh wins or Atlanta losses will eliminate the Braves from the NL wild-card race. Niese (9-11) allowed two runs and seven hits in 7 1-3 innings. The left-hander also struck out five and walked one while improving to 1-1 with a 2.14 ERA in his last three starts. Dilson Herrera and Curtis Granderson homered for New York, which has won three of four. Niese, who was just 2-4 with a 5.65 ERA in his previous six road starts since June 21, retired nine straight batters before loading the bases on consecutive singles with one out in the eighth. Manager Terry Collins brought in Josh Edgin, who gave up a two-run single to Freddie Freeman. But Carlos Torres retired Justin Upton and Chris Johnson to end the threat. Jenrry Mejia then worked the ninth for his 27th save in 30 chances. Braves starter Mike Minor lasted just one inning, leaving with left shoulder discomfort after the Mets went up 1-0 on Lucas Dudas sacrifice fly. Minor (6-12) dropped to 0-8 in his last nine September starts. David Hale came in and fell behind 3-0 in the second on Herreras third homer, a two-run shot just inside the left-field foul pole. Grandersons 19th homer, coming off David Carpenter, made it 4-0 in the eighth. The Braves (76-78) fell two games under .500 for the first time since they were 2-4 on April 12, 2012. TRAINERS ROOM Mets: 2B Herrera left with a strained right quadriceps after he beat out an infield single in the sixth. Ruben Tejada came in to run and then played shortstop, making a strong defensive play to throw out Upton for the second out of the eighth. Braves: RF Jason Heyward missed his second straight game with a bruised left thumb. ... C Evan Gattis, sidelined the last 10 games with strep throat and a kidney stone, grounded out as a pinch hitter in the fifth. UP NEXT Mets: RHP Jacob deGrom (8-6) tied the single-game record set by Houstons Jim Deshaies in 1986 by striking out his first eight batters in a no-decision at home against Miami last Monday. Braves: RHP Ervin Santana (14-9) is 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA in three starts against the Mets this year. SMOOTH MOVES Bonifacio, who filled in for Heyward, made two solid plays in right field, throwing out Granderson at the plate when he tried to score from second in the second and running to the warning track in right-centre to catch Daniel Murphys fly ball with runners on first and second. Michael Gallup Cowboys Jersey . However, Jim Popp isnt sure how long hell be able to admire wide receiver Duron Carter. Jamize Olawale Cowboys Jersey .ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. http://www.shoptheofficialcowboys.com/Elite-Bo-Scarbrough-Cowboys-Jersey/ .J. - New York Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara left Monday nights game against the Indianapolis Colts with a torn biceps.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the NCAAs revenue sharing, Don Zimmer, soccer language and Super Bowl 50. Dave Naylor, TSN Radio 1050: My thumb is down to world of big-time American college sports, which reminded us again this week there is no end to hypocrisy when it comes to sharing wealth with its players. This week Alabama football coach Nick Saban and Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari were rewarded with contracts worth more than $50 million each. This comes just as the NCAA is about to begin defending its right not to share revenues with players; in the lawsuit filed by former UCLA basketball star Ed OBannon, which starts on Monday. How the NCAA can argue theres not enough money in the system to compensate players when coaches like Saban and Calapari can earn more than $6 million a year should be interesting. But we just know theyll find a way to do it. Dave Feschuk, Toronto Star: My thumb is up to baseball characters. May they live forever in our memory, even as they leave us. The game lost an unforgettable one this week with the passing of Don Zimmer. In a sport built on stories, his was a pure classic. Zimmer met Babe Ruth as a boy, got married to his high-school sweetheart at home plate of a minor-league park, played with Jackie Robinson and won a World Series with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Hell probably be remembered best for charging Pedro Martinez back in 2003, when Zimmer was in his 70s at the time. As he said later, "I sure wasnt going over there to kiss him." Baseballs heroes arent always so easy to embrace. So often today we focus on money and moneyball. Zimmers life was about finding a love and fighting to keep it. He loved basebaall so much, it nearly killed him. Kony Ealy Jersey. As a player, he survived two fastballs to the head. One put him in a coma, another caved in his face. He kept playing after both. He got fired four times as a manager, but he never retired. Nobody ever wanted him to. For characters as unique as Zimmer, there are no replacements. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: As I said four years ago, and plan to say again in 2018, my thumb is down to anybody in this country who plans to speak world cup soccer English for the next month. I dont want anyone saying a goalkeeper had a clean sheet. Clean sheets are in your linen closet. He had a shutout. The score, maybe, was one nothing, not one nil. And please dont tell me the United States needs a result against Ghana. A loss is a result, not a good result, but a result. And just so were clear, its not football here, its soccer. Alright, now carry on and keep calm. Dave Hodge, TSN: My thumb is up, though not for long, to the National Football League for deciding to ditch the Roman numeral "l" for super bowl 50, to be played in February of 2016. The use of Roman numerals began with super bowl 5, sorry, "v", and it has proved to be very successful - in creating confusion. Now that couldnt have been its intention, but what else, pray tell, was it supposed to do? Make the event seem bigger than it is? It needs no help from an ancient alphabet. But, as I said, the NFL is praised here only briefly, because it will return to Roman numerals for super bowl 51 - LI - and theres no end in sight, unless its super bowl 59, which will read LIX, and maybe the NFL wont be fond of Super Bowl licks, which come to think of it, was last seasons super bowl - Denver taking its licks from Seattle. Cheap Heat Jerseys Cheap Bucks Jerseys Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys Cheap Pelicans Jerseys Cheap Knicks Jerseys Cheap Thunder Jerseys Cheap Magic Jerseys Cheap 76ers Jerseys Cheap Suns Jerseys Cheap Blazers Jerseys Cheap Sacramento Kings Jerseys Cheap Spurs Jerseys Cheap Raptors Jerseys Cheap Jazz Jerseys Cheap Wizards Jerseys ' ' '