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The Tomahawk Times - Smoltz, Braves sweep away Mets with 3-1 win
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ATLANTA -- John Smoltz threw five shut-out innings against ace Johan Santana to earn his first win of the season, as the Atlanta Braves scored a 3-1 win over the New York Mets on Sunday.
Battling through a 3-for-23 start to the season, Mark Teixeira connected for a two-run home run off Aaron Heilman in the ninth inning that provided valuable insurance for the bottom half of the inning.
The Mets did not go quietly in their last at-bat. Facing Braves closer Rafael Soriano, New York got an two-out RBI-single from Ryan Church that got the Mets on the board and made it a 3-1 game. The single was followed up by a walk to Angel Pagan that gave the Mets two on with two out.
With New York threatening it would be Teixeira again to rescue the Braves, this time flashing the leather, with a lunging grab and toss to first against Brian Schneider to get the final out in the Atlanta victory.
Smoltz (1-0) allowed just two hits and threw 78 pitches in his five innings of work, striking out six New York hitters without walking a batter. Bobby Cox made the decision to go to the pen when a knot in Smoltz's right trapezius began to the bother him.
The injury is not believed to be serious, and Smoltz will make his next scheduled start. Had it not been his first outing of the season, Smoltz probably would have worked his way through it.
New York received a quality start from Santana (1-1), who allowed just one run on four hits while striking out three in seven innings.
On Deck: The Braves will take the show on the road, beginning a 10-game roadtrip with a four game set against the Colorado Rockies. Tom Glavine will face Aaron Cook in the opener on Monday. Game time is set for 8:35 PM EST.
Grant McAuley covers baseball for the Atlanta Braves Radio Network. For more, click here.
