Kevin Plawecki, replacing the injured catcher Travis d’Arnaud, went 2 for 4 and scored two runs as the Mets won their ninth straight, routing the Braves to improve to 11-3.
Ballmer, the former chief executive of Microsoft and the first-year owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, is, in the words of the team’s coach, “the most normal $24 billion guy I know.”
By May 19, the Knicks will know their place in the 2015 draft, but with $26 million in salary-cap space, the team president said, “A lot of our direction is about free agency.”
Albert Montanes also came back to defeat Ricardas Berankis 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 and will meet David Ferrer in the second round, where 2014 U.S. Open winner Marin Cilic will play Victor Estrella after Estrella ousted Dominic Thiem 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic won the Monte Carlo Masters for the second time in three years by defeating sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, in Monaco on Sunday. Djokovic became the first player to win the first three Masters tournaments of the year, having already completed the Indian Wells-Miami sweep.
■ Top-ranked Serena Williams fought back from a set down to win her singles match against Sara Errani, but she could not produce another victory in the decisive doubles encounter as Italy beat the United States, 3-2, in a Fed Cup World Group playoff in Brindisi, Italy. Italy will return to the World Group and can compete for the Fed Cup trophy next year; the United States will be relegated to World Group II. (AP)
South Africa deployed troops on Tuesday to areas recently hit by a surge in anti-immigrant attacks that has claimed seven lives and exposed the government’s inability to stop the violence.