ATLANTA — Jeff Francoeur couldn’t have looked more relieved last night as he stood in the Mets’ clubhouse after a 5-3 loss to the Braves.
It had been less than a week, but the recently acquired right fielder was dreading the first night back in his hometown facing the team that had traded him for Ryan Church.
Francoeur received a 30-second standing ovation from the Turner Field crowd of 32,736 before his first at-bat, then went 0-for-4 with an RBI groundout, a strikeout and a liner that turned into a double play.
“It was good to hear a bunch of cheers, but it was one of those things where I was just ready to get in the box and play ball,” Francoeur said. “I knew this night was going to be different, and I’m glad to get it over with.”
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Church didn’t start but entered the game in the eighth inning as a pinch-runner and scored the Braves’ final run.
Church, 1-for-9 with Atlanta, continued to take the high road before yesterday’s game, saying he has no ill will toward the Mets or manager Jerry Manuel and never did.
“It’s a cutthroat business, and things happen,” Church said. “Both myself and [Francoeur], hopefully we’re going to thrive off this as a new beginning.”
Church, who apparently will platoon in right field with Matt Diaz in Atlanta, thinks highly of his former teammates.
That’s still the case even though close friend Brian Schneider teased him last weekend by texting Church that it was “nice to have a right fielder who can drive in runs now.”
“I love all those guys over there like my brothers,” Church said.
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The Mets are hoping to do for Angel Berroa’s career what the Yankees could not.
Berroa, the 2003 AL Rookie of the Year, was promoted as expected yesterday to take the roster spot created last weekend when fellow infielder Argenis Reyes was sent to Triple-A Buffalo.
Berroa was signed by the Mets last weekend after the Yankees cut him loose in June following a dreadful performance in which he hit just .136 with a double and one RBI in 21 games.
Manuel said he fully supported the promotion of Berroa, 31, and not just because it gives Manuel a better chance to rest over-used veteran Alex Cora during Jose Reyes’ continued disabled-list stint. Cora will now likely sit in favor of Berroa when the Mets face a left-hander.
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Manuel reiterated that any of his starting pitchers who struggled going into the All-Star break — namely, Livan Hernandez — will be on a short leash in the second half.
“When you’re behind, time and patience are not things you have room for,” Manuel said. “You hope not to have to make decisions, but if it comes down to that and you’re struggling and you’re trying to catch up, we’ve got to do everything we can.”
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Manuel had the Mets out very early at Turner Field for a lengthy session of pitcher’s fielding practice, which is usually a staple of the first few weeks of spring training.
The Mets’ sloppy defensive play in the first half and the three-day All-Star break prompted the unusual extra work, Manuel said.
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Tonight’s game is scheduled to start at 7:35 p.m., a delay of 25 minutes, because the Braves plan to retire Greg Maddux’s jersey with an elaborate on-field ceremony.