updated 12:30 a.m. ET Sept. 16, 2004

NEW YORK - Their manager was out of a job, and the New York Mets were out of the sorts.

Lame-duck Art Howe and his listless Mets lost for the 21st time in 25 games, with John Thomson pitching the Atlanta Braves to a 2-0 victory on a drizzly Wednesday night.

The Mets fired Howe hours earlier, making the move effective at the end of the season. He was given his choice of whether to stay for the final 17 games — general manager Jim Duquette asked him to remain and Howe agreed, saying, “I’m not a quitter.”

“There were obviously a lot of things happening before the game,” Howe said. “Once you get into a game, it’s a game.

“I’m just glad it’s behind us.”

There wasn’t much energy at Shea Stadium, and the Mets didn’t do a lot to cause any excitement.

“Contrary to how it looked, we care,” losing pitcher Al Leiter said.

Atlanta cut its magic number to 10 for clinching its 13th straight division title. The Braves won despite getting only four hits, including Marcus Giles’ two doubles and a single.

Cox couldn’t help but notice what had taken place in the other dugout.

“I don’t know what’s right. It’s up to Art, if he’s comfortable this way,” Cox said.

Thomson (12-8) gave up five hits in seven innings, improving to 3-0 in four starts against New York this season. He is 6-1 in his last 13 outings overall.

Thomson warmed up twice during a 56-minute rain delay after the first inning. He also changed his pitching pattern.

“I think today was a matter of throwing more curveballs. The reason was that this is the third or fourth time I’ve faced these guys and they were starting to sit on the fastball away and the slider away,” he said.

Chris Reitsma worked the eighth and John Smoltz finished the six-hitter for his 38th save in 42 chances.

Leiter (9-7) lost despite allowing just three hits in seven innings and striking out 11, the most by a Mets pitcher this year.

Giles and J.D. Drew scored on nearly identical slides in the first inning, touching the plate with their left hand before catcher Jason Phillips’ tag. Howe argued the first call with plate umpire Brian O’Nora.

In the middle of the Mets’ third, O’Nora became ill with flulike symptoms and was taken to a hospital. The game was held up for nine minutes, and resumed with second base ump Phil Cuzzi taking over behind the plate.

“We feel really bad for the plate umpire getting sick. He could hardly breathe. I hope he’s OK,” Cox said.

Cuzzi said O’Nora was all right. O’Nora recently had been slowed by a bad cold.

“They said it was a viral infection. He’s getting out of the hospital now and going back to the hotel,” Cuzzi said.

Thomson worked around a pair of walks in the third, and got a break in the fourth to keep New York scoreless.

Richard Hidalgo singled with two outs and Phillips followed with a drive to right-center field. The ball bounced over the wall for a double, holding Hidalgo at third base, and Wilson Delgado was intentionally walked before the poor-hitting Leiter flied out.

Leiter fell to 0-3 in his last six starts. He had won four straight decisions against the Braves, dating to Sept. 28, 2002.

Giles doubled with one out in the first and Drew followed with a single to right field. Hidalgo’s throw was on target, but Giles deftly got around Phillips’ attempt to block the plate.

Drew went to second on the throw, and Julio Franco hit a two-out liner to shortstop that glanced off Delgado’s glove for an error. When Delgado ambled after the ball in shallow center field, Drew hustled the whole way and barely beat the three-hop throw home.

Leiter left in the seventh for a pinch-hitter. Eric Valent batted for him with two on and none out but struck out on three pitches. Thomson got two fly balls to end the threat.

Notes: Mets owner Fred Wilpon made it official: SS Kaz Matsui is moving. “Next year, Matsui will be playing second base,” Wilpon said, “and he’s fine with that.” Matsui has been taking ground balls at the new spot, and it was assumed he would eventually play there. But Matsui seemed surprised when told the decision had been made. ... There was another delay before the bottom of the seventh when a man ran on the field. He was caught by security personnel. ... Leiter’s strikeout total was his highest since he fanned 12 on Aug. 23, 2000. Leiter lost on the 17th anniversary of his major league debut — back in 1987, he pitched the Yankees past Milwaukee.

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