Braves 3 Mets 0

Hudson's return highlighted a second consecutive well-pitched victory for the good guys. He was extremely efficient, throwing just 62 pitches in 6 innings of shutout ball. Must be said that he was helped enormously by the liberal high strike zone of umpire Bill Miller, but you have to give Hudson credit for identifying the strike zone early on and pitching to it.

Brower, Kolb and Reitsma each pitched a inning of scoreless relief to complete the shutout. Kolb's recent performance has been very timely for him and the club -- he's stepped it up just as bullpen roles are being defined, and doubtless Cox is more willing to trust tested veterans in the late innings, as opposed to a rookie like Boyer. It remains to be seen what role newcomer Jay Powell can carve for himself, but overall it seems that patience is being rewarded in the pen.

KJ broke out of a slump with two RBI hits, and Furcal once again reached base three times. Andruw is trying to pull outside breaking balls again, so it's a good thing that we've got some balance in the lineup. Nice day for Langerhans as well -- two hits and a good running catch to end the eighth.