of the 13 runs that the Braves scored. For the season, he hit .319 with a .510 on-base percentage, a 1.000 slugging percentage, and seven home runs against the Mets. Per MLB rules, the one game wild card playoff was held the next day, October 4, at Cincinnati's Cinergy Field. Al Leiter shut down the Reds with a two-hit shutout in a 5–0 Mets victory, sending New York to its first playoff berth since 1988 (as the wild card team, the Mets would be scheduled to play the division winner with the best record. However, since that team came from their own division — the 103–59 Braves, who also had the best record in baseball — New York faced the team with the second best record, the 100–62 Arizona Diamondbacks). In the National League Division Series, both the Mets and Braves would advance in four games. The Mets would defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks, with the series ending on a walk-off home run by seldom-used backup catcher Todd Pratt, only playing due to a thumb injury to star catcher Mike Piazza. The Braves would vanquish the Houston Astros in four games, with Brian Jordan and eventual National League MVP Chipper Jone leading the way. And that would set up a National League Championship Series that was anticipated by many, pitting two bitter rivals against each other on the national stage. This marked the Braves' record eighth-straight appearance in the NLCS, while the Mets advanced to the league championship for the first time since 1988. This would be the second time that the Braves and Mets met in the NLCS. The two teams met in the very first National League Championship Series in 1969, with the Mets sweeping the then best-of-five set. Prior to Game 1, Mets Manager Bobby Valentine chided the Braves, saying that "They better be ready to play some ghosts, because we were dead and buried two weeks ago," in reference to earlier statements by Chipper Jones. When the series shifted to Shea Stadium in New York, raucous Mets fans would continually jeer Jones, chanting "LARRY!" (his given name) in derision every time he stepped to the plate. John Rocker also riled up fans, as he would often pretend to toss baseballs into the stands, and got into several arguments. This was Atlanta’s eighth straight NLCS appearance. Summary Atlanta Braves vs. New York Mets Game summaries Game 1 Tuesday,