(Sports Network) - National League East rivals will meet for the first time this season tonight at Atlanta's Turner Field, where the struggling Braves begin a three-game series with the New York Mets.

Atlanta enters this set having dropped three of their first four games to start the 2008 campaign and began a current six-game homestand by losing two of three tests to Pittsburgh. In Thursday's rubber match, the Pirates' Xavier Nady singled home the eventual game-winning run in the top of the 10th inning to lift his club to a 4-3 victory.

Nyjer Morgan led off the 10th with a walk against Braves reliever Chris Resop and took second on a sacrifice before Resop issued a free pass to Jason Bay that put two runners on. Two batters later, Nady delivered a base hit up the middle to plate Morgan with the go-ahead score.

Chipper Jones went 3-for-5 with a run scored for Atlanta, while Mark Kotsay finished 2-for-5 with a triple in the loss.

Emergency starter Jeff Bennett pitched the first four innings for the Braves and allowed two runs on four hits. Bennett was filling in for the injured Mike Hampton, who pulled his left pectoral muscle during pregame warmups and was placed on the 15-day disabled list following the contest.

Atlanta also played last night's matchup without regular second baseman Kelly Johnson, who is bothered by a strained right knee and is likely to sit out again this evening.

With the bullpen having been taxed during the Pittsburgh series, Atlanta will be hoping for a long outing out of ace Tim Hudson tonight. The right-hander had an impressive season debut last Sunday in Washington, as Hudson retired the final 19 Nationals hitters he faced after being touched for a pair of runs and three hits in the opening frame. He wound up with a no decision, however, in a game Atlanta lost 3-2 on a walkoff home run by Washington's Ryan Zimmerman in the ninth inning.

Hudson, a 16-game winner for the Braves last season, owns a 7-4 career record with a 3.62 earned run average over 12 previous starts against the Mets. The two-time All-Star faced New York four times in 2007 and went 2-2 with a 3.33 ERA in those games.

The Mets have gotten their year off to a better start than Atlanta, as New York took two of three encounters with the Florida Marlins in Miami to begin a six-game road trip. The Mets were dominant in Wednesday's series finale, with the offense pounding out 17 hits to back a strong mound showing from Oliver Perez in a 13-0 rout of the Fish.

David Wright and Ryan Church each went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI to lead New York's offensive outburst. Carlos Beltran also had a three-hit night, while Jose Reyes knocked in a pair of runs with a sixth-inning double.

Perez scattered five hits and a walk in his six-inning stint and struck out eight Florida hitters in an excellent season debut.

John Maine will attempt to match Perez's performance when he gets the call for the Mets in tonight's opener. The young right-hander is also attempting to build on a 15-win 2007 season in which he produced a solid 3.90 ERA and 180 strikeouts over 32 starts.

Maine also put together an outstanding spring, as the 26-year-old amassed a 3-1 record and an impressive 1.53 ERA in seven starts spanning 29 1/3 innings during the Mets' Grapefruit League schedule.

The Virginia native faced Atlanta three times last season and posted a 1-1 record and a 3.93 ERA.

These divisional foes split 18 meetings a year ago, with New York holding a slight 5-4 edge in the games played at Turner Field. In their most recent visit to Atlanta, the Mets swept a three-game set from the Braves from August 31-September 2 of last year.