Niese allowed three runs and nine hits in 7.1 innings Thursday to take the loss against the Braves. He issued one walk and struck out five. Niese allowed just one run over the first seven innings, but gave up a few in the eighth to make his outing look worse than it really was. The veteran lefty continues to give the Mets quality innings, not allowing more than three earned runs in 23 out of 25 starts this season. His average fastball velocity is down almost two mph from 90.2 to 88.6, but he's still able to get outs, aided by a 1.93 G/F ratio. He hasn't been as good away from home this year, and while his next start is on the road, it's not a spot in which he should do poorly, pitching against the Marlins.