ATLANTA -- For Ervin Santana, throwing strike after strike was even better than a no-hitter -- especially when his impressive command came in his Atlanta debut. Darwin Thompson Jersey . Santana allowed only three hits over eight scoreless innings, Jason Heyward homered and drove in two runs and the Braves held off the New York Mets 4-3 on Wednesday night. Santanas first 20 pitches were strikes. He threw only one ball in his first three innings. "That one was close," he said with a smile before adding "Thats all right." Santana threw a no-hitter with the Angels in 2011. "This is better than a no-hitter," he said. "When you throw strikes all the time, that means youre in control of the game." Mets manager Terry Collins said he could name only one pitcher who threw so many consecutive strikes. "(Roy) Halladays about the only guy Ive seen," Collins said. "We chased some balls out of the zone early, which helped (Santana) a little bit." The Braves bullpen almost blew a 4-0 lead in the ninth. Jordan Walden walked Eric Young Jr. and gave up a one-out single to David Wright. Craig Kimbrel walked Curtis Granderson to load the bases before striking out Lucas Duda. Juan Lagares drove in two runs with a single, and Travis dArnaud added a run-scoring single before Kimbrel fanned Ruben Tejada for his fourth save. "Im more frustrated for giving up somebody elses runs and making it close," Kimbrel said. Santana (1-0) was sharp from the start, throwing 28 strikes in his first 29 pitches. He finished with six strikeouts and no walks. He said he didnt expect to have such strong command. "Honestly, no. In the bullpen I was all over the place," Santana said. "I just stepped over the line and focused and threw strikes." Santana signed a $14.1 million, one-year contract with Atlanta after the Braves lost starters Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy to season-ending elbow injuries last month. He pitched like he belongs near the top of the rotation as he threw only 88 pitches, 65 for strikes. Zack Wheeler (0-2) allowed four runs on eight hits in five innings for the Mets. Heyward took a 0-for-22 slump into the game and was hitting only .107, with three hits in 28 at-bats. He doubled his hits total with the homer and two singles in his first three at-bats. Heyward led off the first inning with an 11-pitch at-bat against Wheeler before pulling a 3-2 fastball over the wall in right-centre for his second homer. "Its a tough way to start the game, going that deep into the count and him hitting a home run, but it was a good at-bat for him," Wheeler said. "He just came out on top on that one." The Braves added three runs off Wheeler in the fifth. Evan Gattis doubled and scored on Heywards single to right field. Santana, who slapped a single to right for his fifth career hit, and Heyward scored on Freddie Freemans single. Each team had defensive highlights early in the game. In the first inning, Lagares raced back to make a leaping catch of Freemans drive at the wall, his cleat leaving a rip in the cushion. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons showed his Gold Glove form in the second. The shortstop went to his right to field a grounder by dArnaud before slipping, hopping up to one knee and throwing out dArnaud at first base, with Freeman stretching for the throw. An excited Santana pumped his fist, shouted and pointed at Simmons. Santana celebrated with another fist-pump after Heyward, sprinting toward the right-centre gap, ended the sixth by catching Wrights drive before falling on the warning track. NOTES: Braves LHP Luis Avilan, who left Tuesday nights game with a hamstring cramp, had no problems throwing in the bullpen before Wednesdays game and said hell be careful to remain hydrated in cooler weather. ... CF Jordan Schafer was 0-for-3 in his first start of the season. Manager Fredi Gonzalez said B.J. Upton, hitting .138, will be back in the lineup on Thursday. ... Braves LHP Mike Minor (sore shoulder) and RHP Gavin Floyd (elbow surgery) are scheduled for their next rehab appearances on Sunday. ... RHP Pedro Beato was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett to clear a roster spot for Santana. ... Braves RHP David Hale will face Mets RHP Jenry Mejia in the final game of the series on Thursday night. Tyreek Hill Jersey . "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing. Alex Brown Jersey .com) - His team lost in the round of 16 of the FCS playoffs, yet Northern Iowa football coach Mark Farley says his team has made a strong case to be voted to the top 5 in the final rankings. http://www.customchiefsjersey.com/custom-dustin-colquitt-jersey-large-2006n.html . They were expecting him there all along. The Pacers announced Friday night that George has been cleared "to return to normal basketball activity," a decision made three days after he was concussed in Game 2 of the Indiana-Miami series.Arlington, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - The Texas Rangers announced on Tuesday that first baseman Mitch Moreland underwent surgery on his ailing left ankle. Moreland had been placed on the 15-day disabled list with Os Trigonum Syndrome in that ankle back on June 10. He ended up having a reconstructive procedure on a ligament along with bone realignment, all of which is expected to sideline him for three months. The club revealed Moreland is currently recovering in his native Mississippi. The 28-year-old Moreland batted just .246 with two home runs and 23 RBI over 52 games this season. As a result, Texas purchased the contract of first baseman Carlos Pena from Triple-A Round Rock and designated infielder Brad Snyder for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster. Reggie Ragland Jersey. Pena, 36, has eight hits in 24 at-bats (one HR, two RBI) over seven games with Round Rock thus far. The native of the Dominican Republic batted .207 with eight homers and 25 RBI in 89 games between the Astros and Royals in 2013. Per the clubs executive vice president of communications, Pena will play first base and bat sixth against the Tigers later Tuesday. Snyder hit a paltry .167 in 10 games with the Rangers from June 10-22 -- his first major league action since 2011 for the Cubs. ' ' '