Baseball: Mets Survive Late Scare To Overcome Braves

The New York Mets were able to breathe a huge sigh of relief after holding off a ninth-inning rally from Atlanta to beat the Braves 6-5 on Sunday and end a string of defeats to their divisional rivals.

New York starter Jonathon Niese pitched the home team to a 6-1 lead with a strong eight-inning outing but his good work was almost undone by the bullpen in a nervous final inning.

The Mets used three relievers and gave up four walks, resulting in two runs, and a hit batsmen before Jon Rauch came on to get the final out with a pair of runners in scoring position.

The victory ended New York's (55-60) seven-game losing streak to the Braves and allowed them to avoid being swept in the finale of the three-game series.

Despite the loss, Atlanta (66-48) remain 4 1/2 games behind first-place Washington in the National League East division.