NEW YORK -- After spending much of the past three weeks consistently blowing late-inning leads, the Braves' bullpen rose to the occasion during Saturday's 5-3, 11-inning win over the Mets. But the stellar performance recorded by this relief corps concluded in an unexpected manner.
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Because closer Jason Grilli had been used to complete the 10th inning and two relievers -- Brandon Cunniff and David Aardsma -- were unavailable because of recent workload, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez utilized Monday night's scheduled starter, Williams Perez, to protect a two-run lead in the 11th inning.