the second half and finished with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting

ATLANTA -- Bartolo Colon was expected to just be a place holder in the New York Mets rotation until Zack Wheeler returned from Tommy John surgery in the second half of the season.Wheeler, though, had a setback and the Mets have been hit by plenty of other bad pitching news, with Matt Harvey out for the year and most of the other projected starters ailing.Colon, who turned 43 in May, has gone from a veteran luxury to an ultra-necessary contributor as the Mets, winners of six straight games, try to make it make to the postseason.In fact, it wouldnt be a stretch to call the stocky right-hander a savior for the Mets season as they battle for a National League Wild Card spot.Colon takes a 13-7 record and a 3.22 ERA into Saturday nights start against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field and he has been even better than that has the season has worn down.The native of the Dominican Republic is 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA in his past seven starts, including six scoreless innings in a victory at Cincinnati on Monday.Hes been the mainstay, Mets manager Terry Collins said. Hes the guy that every fifth day takes the baseball. We dont have to worry about pitch counts, we dont have to worry about innings. He just goes out there and does it.Hes had two starts where our bullpen was tired and we needed him to get deep in the game, and you looked up and he was in the eighth inning. Hes been a tremendous addition to the staff.Colon tossed eight scoreless innings in a victory over the Braves in New York on May 2 and is 9-3 with a 2.35 ERA in 13 career starts against Atlanta.Despite what seemed like a deep rotation, the Mets brought Colon back as a free agent on a one-year deal after he went 14-13 last year following a 15-13 season in 2014.Colon has been even better this season and his 231 career victories rank third among Latin American-born pitchers.One Braves hitter who has flourished against Colon, though, is Freddie Freeman. The first baseman has a .481 average and one of his 17 homers against the Mets have come against Colon.Of course, Freeman is hitting well against everyone right now, as shown by his 15-game hitting streak and 31 consecutive games reaching base safely.Im not doing anything different than when I was slumping. Im just actually hitting the ball, Freeman said. Early on in the season I was striking out a lot.Rookie John Gant, who will face off against Colon, returned after missing nearly eight weeks with an oblique strain and worked five innings at Philadelphia in a no-decision, giving up four runs (three earned) and striking out six last Saturday.Gant is 1/3 with a 4.70 ERA in 14 games, including five starts. His only major league victory came against the Mets in New York on June 17, when he allowed just two hits and a run over 6 2/3 innings while striking out five and walking two.Gant, 24, was taken by the Mets in the 21st round of the 2011 draft. He was dealt to the Braves in July last year as part of the trade that brought veteran infielders Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe to New York.Cheap Nike Shoes From China . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Cheap Nike Shoes For Sale . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. https://www.wholesalenikeshoesauthentic.com/ .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. Cheap Nike Shoes Authentic . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. Wholesale Nike Shoes . The third-ranked Ivanovic, who won the event in 2008 and 10, served five aces and broke Wickmayer, also a former winner in 2009, five times. "The result looked easier than it really was," Ivanovic said.NORMAN, Okla. -- Khadeem Lattin showed he could also be a force on the offensive end for Oklahoma during the Sooners season opener on Sunday.The junior forward, mostly called upon for his defense to this point in his career, showed his offensive chops against Northwestern State, posting a career-high 19 points to go with 11 rebounds and lifting Oklahoma to a 97-61 rout.The only other returning starter from last seasons Final Four team, Jordan Woodard, added 16 points for Oklahoma (1-0). Coach Lon Kruger subbed early and often as 10 Sooners scored in the first half while Oklahoma raced to a 46-27 lead.Oklahoma has won 14 straight season openers and 19 straight home openers. The Sooners improved to 31-2 at home against nonconference opponents under Kruger.This group is going to make progress all the way through March, Kruger said. . Its going to be a work in progress for a while, but Im excited to see where they go and who steps up and who is doing what roles. Being that much different than last year is one of the more intriguing, enjoyable parts of this team -- the uncertainty of what lies ahead and who does what.Lattin was 7 of 9 from the field against Northwestern State (0-2). He had two baskets in an 18-2 run to start the game. After the Demons closed to 35-24, Lattin added two more during the final 4:24 of the half. The double-double was the third of his career.He said it was a different feeling to be an offensive focal point for the Sooners.You change the way you think, but you always just want the best results for your team, Lattin said. My teammates, we all do a really good job of moving the ball and were a really well-balanced team. We are able to attack and do things from all parts of the floor and thats really exciting.Zeek Woodley, the second-leading career scorer in NCAA Division I, led Northwestern State with 19 points, and Ishmael Lane and Malik Metoyer added 11 and 10, respectively. But there wasnt much else positive for the Demons, coach Mike McConathy said.Lane played hard but he couldnt finish plays, McConathy said. Zeek Woodley had a good line and Malik Metoyer . really had a lot of pop to him. Zeek is kind of a non-traditional player in that he is very efficient offensively. Hes very smooth. He kind of moves like hes loafing, but hes moving. I thought he competed well.BIG PICTURENortthwestern State: For the Demons, it was another chance to test themselves against a major-conference foe as they prepare for Southland Conference play.dddddddddddd Theyve got two more opportunities to do so -- and maybe steal what would be a highlight win -- with road games at Missouri and Mississippi State later this month.Oklahoma: This was a classic icebreaker for the Sooners, who wanted a low-risk game to get acclimated to life without Buddy Hield, Isaiah Cousins and Ryan Spangler -- who started the past three seasons -- before likely facing their true first test later this week. The Sooners are 9-1 all-time against current Southland Conference members, including 6-0 against Northwestern State.BUFORD OUTOklahoma was without one of its more experienced players in sophomore Dante Buford. Buford was ruled ineligible for the Sooners first three games of the season for receiving an extra benefit for one of his complimentary tickets during last seasons NCAA tournament. Buford averaged 3.5 points per game off the bench last season for Oklahomas Final Four team.OKLAHOMAS NEW KIWIMatt Freeman might be a long way from challenging Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams as the states favorite New Zealand native, but the 6-foot-10 freshman made a strong first impression. Freeman went 3 of 4 from 3-point range, had a steal-and-dunk in the second half and finished with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting.Im going to put it down to my poker face, to be honest with you, Freeman said. It was tough the first time I came out there . but the more you get up and down the court and get used to it, its just a basketball game.UP NEXTNorthwestern State: The Demons will take a break from their string of road games -- with four of their first six games against major-college foes -- to host NCAA Division III LeTourneau (Texas) on Friday and Louisiana State-Alexandria of the NAIA on Nov. 22.Oklahoma: The Sooners will travel to Orlando, Florida to play in the Tire Pros Invitational. Oklahoma will face Tulane on Thursday and either Arizona State or Northern Iowa on Friday, with the tournaments final round to be played next Sunday. Clemson, Missouri, Xavier and Davidson are on the other side of the bracket. ' ' '