ATLANTA (AP) — With their season on the line http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-terry-steinbach-jersey , the Atlanta Braves are throwing a changeup. the Braves will start left-hander Sean Newcomb in Game 3 on Sunday night rather than Kevin Gausman. Newcomb nearly pitched a no-hitter against Los Angeles in July, and the Dodgers have beaten right-handers in the first two games of the series.“We need to win,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said Saturday. “And not that Gausman doesn’t give us that opportunity. We like how Newcomb matches up with them and the success that he’s had against the Dodgers this year.”Snitker said he discussed the switch with general manager Alex Anthopoulos on the flight home after Atlanta’s 3-0 loss Friday. They agreed to the move Saturday afternoon.“Snit came up and talked to me on the plane before we took off, let me know that that was a possibility, so kind of get my mind right before I kind of went to bed,” Newcomb said. “So I kind of had a forewarning. But excited, ready to go.”Rookie right-hander Walker Buehler is scheduled to start for the Dodgers. He allowed one hit in 6 2/3 scoreless innings Monday during a 5-2 win over Colorado in the NL West tiebreaker and finished 8-5 with a 2.62 ERA.Atlanta has been outscored 9-0 in the first two games of the series, and the Dodgers have scored all their runs on four homers off Braves right-handers.The 25-year-old Newcomb threw a career-high 134 pitches when he went 8 2/3 innings against Los Angeles in a 4-1 win on July 29 in Atlanta. Chris Taylor singled to left field on a 2-2 pitch with two outs in the ninth for the Dodgers’ first hit.Newcomb was 12-9 with a 3.90 ERA in his first full big league season, but had a 5.68 ERA in 10 late-season starts after the near no-hitter. He tossed two scoreless innings Thursday in relief of Game 1 starter Mike Foltynewicz.Gausman went 5-3 with a 2.87 ERA in 10 starts for the Braves after he was acquired from Baltimore. He and every Atlanta pitcher other than Foltynewicz will be available out of the bullpen.“We’re going to let Newcomb get the thing off the ground Dave Henderson Jersey ,” Snitker explained. “And I talked to Kevin, and he was like, ‘Whatever we gotta do.'”Dodgers manager Dave Roberts doesn’t think his hitters will be surprised by Newcomb’s stuff the way they were when they faced him for the first time and his fastball was dazzling.“Obviously, their backs are against the wall, and they feel it’s the best chance to give them a chance to win (Sunday). So, he’s had success against us,” Roberts said. “I just think (the near no-hitter) was one of those things that you just don’t know a pitcher and you really don’t know the life that it might have, and so it kind of snuck up on us.”Newcomb hopes to build off the success he’s already had against Los Angeles.“Yeah, definitely going to use that to my advantage,” he said. “And they can use that to their advantage http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-dennis-eckersley-jersey , too, because they’ve seen me throw a lot of pitches. So, it’s going to go both ways. Go out there and use my strengths and attack them.”Atlanta has managed just nine hits in the series, and only two runners have reached third base.Snitker hopes the return home from Los Angeles will wake up his team’s bats.He said he might move switch-hitting second baseman Ozzie Albies up to No. 2 in the lineup. But the manager is not anticipating any changes to his starting eight with the Braves on the brink of elimination.“I think in this situation, we’ve got to be aggressive,” he said. “We’ve got to take the safety off and start firing.” NEW YORK (AP) — In a surprising twist to their search for a general manager, the New York Mets were getting closer to completing a deal with high-profile agent Brodie Van Wagenen, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because talks were ongoing.The 44-year-old Van Wagenen has been co-head of CAA Baseball since 2010 and emerged as the team’s top choice for GM from a list of 10-12 original candidates. He appears set to switch sides at the bargaining table after representing several Mets stars including Jacob deGrom, Yoenis Cespedes and Todd Frazier.Tampa Bay Rays senior vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom also was a finalist and remains a possibility, according to the person. An announcement is expected shortly after the World Series — but no sooner than Tuesday.Doug Melvin also had a second interview with ownership this week Santiago Casilla Jersey , but the former Texas and Milwaukee general manager was told he is no longer in the running.With the Mets seeking a replacement for Sandy Alderson, the finalists met during the week with owner Fred Wilpon and his son, chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon.Alderson was hired as Mets general manager in October 2010 but took a leave of absence in late June after a recurrence of cancer. He said the team’s poor record did not merit him returning.Baseball decisions have since been made by the trio of assistant general manager John Ricco and special assistants Omar Minaya and J.P. Ricciardi, all reporting to the Wilpons.Players and rival agents around the majors have expressed concern about a potential conflict of interest if Van Wagenen flips roles, though the move is not unprecedented. Former big league pitcher Dave Stewart made the switch from agent to front-office executive with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and a couple of GMs in the NBA did the same.“In my role as an agent, my solution is to create opportunities for players to be successful both on and off the field,” Van Wagenen said Monday in a statement released by the Mets after his second interview. “My conversations with the Mets continue to be organic. I believe baseball is better when the Mets are competitive and successful.”Following the team’s second consecutive losing season, Jeff Wilpon has been looking for a progressive thinker from outside the organization to take over as GM. He said he was open to “untraditional candidates,” an approach that has support from his father Clayton Richard Jersey , and would like to have someone in place by the Nov. 5-8 general managers’ meetings.Jeff Wilpon also said he would like Ricco, Ricciardi and Minaya to return — but that doesn’t guarantee they’ll be retained.“As Jeff and Fred continue their search for a new head of baseball operations, the players, fans and entire organization will be motivated to have a leader with the skills and commitment to win,” Van Wagenen said in his statement. “If the Wilpons believe I am that person, we will have that conversation.”Van Wagenen also represents Mets minor leaguer Tim Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback.If he takes the GM job, Van Wagenen would need to give up his career as an agent.Van Wagenen played college baseball at Stanford with current Houston Astros manager AJ Hinch, and the two became good friends.