Braves 5 – Mets 3

Jason Roach was a 20th-round draft pick by the Mets who rose to the big leagues as a converted third baseman. So it was comforting to learn last night that if the pitching thing doesn’t work out, at least Roach still can hit.

The 27-year-old righty managed two singles, but he was one-third of an inning from a quality start when Vinny Castilla crushed a two-run homer that sealed a 5-3 Braves victory in this increasingly lopsided, lackluster “rivalry.”

“It’s very frustrating,” a pleasant Roach said. “That was tough. It’s tough for me. I just want to keep the team in it.”

Shane Reynolds, whom the Mets passed on in early April, poured more salt on the last-place club’s wounds by allowing only two runs on eight hits over six innings. Reynolds (6-4) wasn’t deemed as good an investment at the time as David Cone, who is now retired. Go figure.

“It seems like they always have one more rally than we do,” Vance Wilson said.

Roach (0-2), who was smoked for seven earned runs in three innings in his previous start in Anaheim on June 14, was less of a disappointment this time. He had an infield single off Reynolds’ glove and a single to left, but he put the Mets behind 3-1 by the fourth.

With two outs in the sixth, Castilla gave Atlanta a 5-2 lead with his 13th of the season, a 405-foot, two-run moon shot to right-center on a bad slider.

“[Roach] battled,” manager Art Howe said in a familiar refrain. “That’s a tough lineup to break in against. I thought he accounted for himself better tonight [than in Anaheim].”

The Mets (39-49) scored a run in the eighth, but Roger Cedeno grounded into a 1-2-3 inning-ending double play with the bases loaded against lefty reliever Jung Bong, earning a cascade of boos from 29,096.

John Smoltz earned his major-league leading 33rd save in 35 chances after Howe asked the umpires to have Smoltz do something about a white T-shirt sleeve that was distracting. After the Atlanta trainer cut off Smoltz’s right sleeve, the closer threw 12 strikes in 13 pitches.

“Turnabout is fair play,” Howe said, referring to the Braves complaining about Jae Weong Seo’s wristband.

Roach was pitching in place of Al Leiter, who is on the disabled list. Roach is 5-4 with a 4.00 ERA in Triple-A Norfolk, hardly numbers that scream “big leaguer.” That’s more an indictment of the lack of pitching depth in the high minors. It’s a huge dropoff from Aaron Heilman, who is winless in three major-league starts. Sunday’s starting slot is wide open.

If you want to blame last night’s loss on axed general manager Steve Phillips, go ahead. Reynolds, you might remember, was a free agent in April. Phillips told some media members he wasn’t interested in Reynolds while simultaneously low-balling him with a minor-league offer. The Mets had a set rotation that included Cone, Phillips reasoned.

Reynolds held off a weak Mets lineup that once again was without Cliff Floyd, who has a sore right wrist. Although the Atlanta righty worked only one 1-2-3 inning and surrendered two hits to Roach, he was credited with his first quality start in his last five turns.

Reynolds developed under Howe and pitching coach Vern Ruhle in Houston.

“He’s a cagey vet,” Howe said.