Open Thread 4/8: Braves vs. Mets

It's the home opener for the Braves as they celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Hank Aaron's 715th home run.

The home portion of the Braves' schedule begins today, as the Braves (4-2) play host to the New York Mets (2-4) in the 2014 home opener. Aaron Harang (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will be getting his second start of the season after pulling a gem of a start out of his back pocket last week against the Brewers. The Mets will be rolling out Bartolo Colon (0-1, 4.50 ERA), who is hoping to help get the Mets back on the right track after they suffered a 2-1 defeat in Cincinnati on Sunday.

In addition to the normal pomp and circumstance that comes with a home opener, today is also the 40th Anniversary of Hank Aaron taking his crown as the Home Run King. The Braves will be wearing throwback uniforms from that period, which explains why there's a picture of Craig Kimbrel from 2011 up there. We've gotta get in the spirit of things, you know?

Here are the lineups:

Braves:

1. Jason Heyward - RF
2. B.J. Upton - CF
3. Freddie Freeman - 1B
4. Chris Johnson - 3B
5. Justin Upton - LF
6. Dan Uggla - 2B
7. Evan Gattis - C
8. Andrelton Simmons - SS
9. Aaron Harang - P

1. Eric Young Jr. - LF
2. Daniel Murphy - 2B
3. David Wright - 3B
4. Curtis Granderson - RF
5. Lucas Duda - 1B
6. Juan Lagares - CF
7. Travis d'Arnaud - C
8. Ruben Tejada - SS
9. Bartolo Colon - P

Bartolo Colon Pitch Data Since 2013

Pitch Type	Count	Foul/Swing	Whiff/Swing	GB/BIP	LD/BIP	FB/BIP	PU/BIP	GB/FB	HR/(FB+LD)
Fourseam	930	44.23	20.34	29.71	28.00	32.57	9.71	91.23	2.83
Sinker	1612	39.92	7.77	49.23	21.91	23.20	5.67	212.22	6.29
Change	149	40.23	26.44	36.67	26.67	23.33	13.33	157.14	13.33
Slider	270	28.57	27.73	43.40	32.08	18.87	5.66	230.00	0.00
Cutter	11	50.00	12.50	33.33	0.00	66.67	0.00	50.00	0.00

The game will start at 7:10 and will be televised on SportsSouth.