W.O.T » Isaiah Wynn, the Patriots’ first-round pick la

No-hitter or not http://www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/bobby-evans-jersey , Mike Soroka knew the Braves would be cautious and not let him overexert his right shoulder.

”The first time I even thought about what was going on was going out for the sixth,” he said. ”It was happening so quickly. You get into a rhythm that way, and that wasn’t bad as well.”

Soroka did not allow a hit until the seventh inning, Freddie Freeman homered and drove in both runs, and the Atlanta Braves beat the struggling New York Mets 2-0 on Wednesday.

Soroka, the youngest pitcher in the major leagues and one of baseball’s top prospects, returned from a shoulder strain that sidelined him since May 17 to outpitch NL ERA leader Jacob deGrom in a game that lasted only 2 hours, 12 minutes.

Making his fourth career start, Soroka (2-1) gave up one hit, one walk and struck out four in 6 1/3 innings . He had a simple game plan.

”Pitch my game and let them adjust to my game as opposed to the other way around,” Soroka said. ”I think we did a really good job of that.”

Freeman Greg Gaines Jersey , the NL batting leader, has hit safely in 23 of his past 24 games. He drove in the first run with a single in the fourth off deGrom (4-2). He homered off Jeremy Blevins in the eighth .

Freeman has five homers in his past seven games and 14 overall.

Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said that Soroka would be on a pitch count, so it was no surprise when he replaced him with A.J. Minter after Michael Conforto singled to begin the seventh after 74 pitches.

The Mets have lost 10 of their past 11 and 17 of their past 21. They went 3-6 at SunTrust Park this season against the NL East-leading Braves.

DeGrom (4-2) allowed seven hits and one run and struck out seven in seven innings and threw 86 pitches. He began the game leading with majors with a 0.81 ERA since April 21, but trailed 1-0 in the fourth when Dansby Swanson doubled with one out and scored on Freeman’s single.

The punchless Mets have scored 10 runs in their past 87 innings. They’ve lost deGrom’s past five outings even though he’s allowed only five runs over that span.

”He threw seven really stressful innings, especially the last couple of innings,” New York manager Mickey Callaway said. ”He had to grind thorough there and did a great job of keeping us in the game and giving us a chance to win like he does every time.”

Conforto moved to second on a wild pitch by Soroka in the seventh, but didn’t advance when Minter struck out Brandon Nimmo and Jay Bruce popped up. Soroka’s other base runner was Bruce, who walked to begin the second and was erased on a double play.

Arodys Vizcaino earned his 12th save in 14 chances in a shaky ninth. Nimmo doubled with two outs, advancing Conforto to third, before Bruce popped up to end it.

DeGrom said he wasn’t blaming teammates for the lack of run support, but third baseman Todd Frazier summed up the state of the Mets’ offense.

”After the game Christian Wilkins Jersey , I said, `Dude, I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know why we’re not producing for you,’ ” Frazier said. ”We talk about trying too hard. Maybe we’re trying too hard when he’s pitching, but a guy throws like that, he works fast. He was just dominant.”

STILL SCORCHING

Facing a shift in the fourth, Freeman hit an opposite-field single, improving his average since the start of 2013 with runners in scoring position to .361, best in the majors over that span.

He’s hitting .413 against the Mets in 12 games this year and has a .318 average, 22 homers and 94 RBIs in 134 games against the Mets, but his thoughts were mostly on his mother. Wednesday marked the death of Rosemary Freeman http://www.miamidolphinsteamonline.com/michael-deiter-jersey , who passed away from skin cancer when Freddie was 8 years old.

”I don’t know if I’ve ever done well on this day,” he said. ”It’s hard to keep my emotions in check. We lost her way too young. I hit that really high, I know I hit it good, but I think she pulled that one over for me today.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mets: RHP Noah Syndergaard has been prescribed more rest after getting a second opinion on a strained ligament in his index finger. Callaway said Syndergaard’s right finger is ”tender to the touch.” Syndergaard, on the disabled list retroactive to May 26, was examined Tuesday in New York. There is no immediate timetable for his return.

Braves: RHP Julio Teheran, out since June 5 with a right thumb contusion, is eligible to come off the disabled list Friday, but the Braves have yet to announce their rotation for the weekend.

UP NEXT

Mets: LHP Steven Matz (2-4, 3.53 ERA) threw a season-high 105 pitches in his previous start, a no-decision against the Yankees. He’ll face Matt Koch (4-3 Garrett Bradbury Jersey , 4.20) as the Mets open a series against the Diamondbacks.

Braves: RHP Anibal Sanchez (2-0, 2.37 ERA) will try for his first victory in six starts against San Diego against the Padres’ Tyson Ross (5-3, 3.43).

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The Patriots are the defending Super Bowl champions.That’s the good news in New England.The bad news is they lost one key player to retirement and have others that are winding down their careers as well.Rob Gronkowski’s decision to hang up his cleats last month didn’t come as a total surprise after he hinted at it following each of the past two seasons. But it did create yet another need to address as New England prepares for the NFL draft.With holes on both sides of the ball, unlike in recent years it could mean a busier than usual three days for Bill Belichick and his staff. They have 12 picks overall, including four in the first seven rounds.Belichick is being predictably coy about his plans for them.“We have a lot of draft picks as we sit here today. I don’t know that that necessarily means that they will or won’t be there on draft weekend,” he said. “We’ll see how all of that goes. Just evaluate situations as they come up and try to make the best decisions, we can for the football team.“There’s no set goal in mind as to how many picks to have or what to do with them. We just want to try to make good decisions at every opportunity we can to improve our team in whatever way is possible and that includes everything.”The offense has some big holes at both receiver and at left tackle.Receiver Julian Edelman is Tom Brady’s most trusted and experienced pass catcher. But the reigning Super Bowl MVP will be 33 when the regular season starts.Chris Hogan signed with the Panthers in free agency, leaving Brady with Phillip Dorsett as his No. 2 receiver on the depth chart behind Edelman.Dorsett was much more comfortable in his second full season with New England, catching 32 passes and three touchdowns. But with Josh Gordon still suspended, the Patriots need some other options. The signing of veteran Demaryius Thomas was certainly a start Noah Fant Jersey , though an addition of youth couldn’t hurt.The same is true defensively.New England took the first step in filling the void left by edge rusher Trey Flowers‘ departure to Detroit by trading for veteran Michael Bennett. The Patriots also need to replace the production of defensive tackle Malcom Brown as well as add some general depth on the defensive line.Some other things to know about the Patriots heading into the draft:REPLACING GRONKThe Patriots did sign veteran tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins to join a group to replace Gronk that also includes youngsters Jacob Hollister and Matt LaCosse. Though considering how integral the tight end is to offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ schemes, it’s very likely they will use a high pick to snare one of the top prospects.Some possible names to watch include T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant, both former standouts at Iowa known for their blocking and pass-catching abilities.PROTECTING BRADYFor the second consecutive offseason New England is in the market for a left tackle. Trent Brown left in free agency for a big payday with the Raiders. And the Patriots can’t afford not to have a capable replacement guarding the blindside of Tom Brady, who will be 42 when the 2019 season kicks off.One option is Isaiah Wynn, the Patriots’ first-round pick last year who spent 2018 on injured reserve after tearing his Achilles tendon during the preseason.The O-line could also use some depth overall. LaAdrian Waddle was able to fill a lot of those gaps over the past few seasons, but he signed with Buffalo.BRADY’S SUCCESSORWhile he’s not backing down from his desire to play until age 45, the Patriots could use this draft to again to try to identify Brady’s successor.Patriots scouts are very high on former Duke quarterback Daniel Jones. Other possible names to watch for include Will Grier (West Virginia) and Brett Rypien (Boise State).