A pair of veterans will square off Wednesday when the Braves send right-hander Charlie Morton to face New York Mets left-hander Jose Quintana in the rubber game of a three-game series in Atlanta.

The Mets won the first game 10-4 on Monday, but the Braves bounced back to take a 3-2 victory on Tuesday. It will be the final meeting of the year between the National League East rivals. Atlanta leads the season series 9-3 and is 4-1 at home against the Mets.

Quintana (1-4, 3.03 ERA) has posted a quality start in each of his past five starts, the longest streak by a Mets pitcher since Jacob deGrom had six in a row from Aug. 13-Sept. 13, 2022.

In his latest outing, against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday, Quintana earned his first win as a Met. He allowed two runs on three hits and four walks with five strikeouts over six-plus innings.

“He’s solid,” New York manager Buck Showalter said. “He had all three pitches. He’s a guy who chases command instead of velocity. In a lot of ways, he’s a throwback.”

Quintana said, “I felt really good out there. Overall, it feels great. My first win as a Met and I couldn’t be more happy.”

Quintana is 2-4 with a 6.49 ERA in seven career starts against the Braves. He lost to Atlanta in the second game of a doubleheader on Aug. 12 despite allowing only one run over six innings.

Morton (12-10, 3.54) pitched 11 consecutive scoreless innings over his past two starts. In his most recent outing, against the Mets on Aug. 16, he threw six shutout frames, allowed four hits and one walk while striking out 10.

“That was vintage Charlie,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “His breaking ball was something else.”

Morton is 5-6 with a 3.81 ERA in 21 career games (20 starts) against the Mets. He has faced New York three times this year, going 1-1 with a 4.80 ERA.

Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna continues to crush the ball. He hit his 27th homer on Tuesday and has homered once every 13.36 at-bats since May 1. He homered every 12.67 at-bats when he led the National League with 18 long balls during the 2020 COVID-shortened season.

Ozuna is one of seven Braves with at least 20 homers, a club that Eddie Rosario joined when he hit No. 20 on Monday. The only team to have eight players reach 20 homer was the 2019 Minnesota Twins, a squad that included Rosario.

New York’s Francisco Lindor has a season-best, nine-game hitting streak, and Jeff McNeil has hit in seven straight. McNeil is 5-for-9 in the series and lifted his career average against Atlanta to .346 (88-for-254).

The Braves made a roster move on Tuesday. They sent right-hander Allan Winans back to Triple-A Gwinnett and recalled left-hander Jared Shuster, who could draw the start on Sunday in San Francisco. Shuster is 4-2 with a 5.00 ERA in nine starts for Atlanta.

Snitker also said second baseman Ozzie Albies, out since Aug. 13 due to a hamstring tweak, is unlikely to play in a rehab game before being activated, most likely on Friday. The Braves announced that Kyle Wright, a 21-game winner in 2022 who has been out since May 4 because of right shoulder inflammation, will make a rehab start for Class-A Rome on Thursday.

–Field Level Media