NEW YORK -- It proved to be much more interesting than desired after Ervin Santana extended the dominance of Atlanta's starting rotation with his latest gem. But thanks to Justin Upton's late-inning contributions, the Braves overcame the struggles Craig Kimbrel encountered while pitching for the first time in a week.Upton's three-run home run off Jose Valverde in the top of the ninth inning proved to be enough for the Braves, who managed to claim a 7-5 win over the Mets despite the fact that Kimbrel allowed a pair of runs in the bottom half of Saturday night's ninth inning at Citi Field. 
After surrendering David Wright's RBI double and Chris Young's two-out RBI single, Kimbrel loaed the bases by walking Lucas Duda. This prompted the entry of Jordan Walden, who ended the game by getting Travis d'Arnaud to ground out to Andrelton Simmons, who made a backhanded stop and a strong throw to first base.Kimbrel was pitching for the first time since April 12. The dominant closer had been shut down for a couple of days.Because the Braves have produced two complete games and had one game rained out this week, David Carpenter was making his first appearance since Monday when he replaced Santana to begin the eighth inning. Carpenter allowed hits, including an RBI single by Young, to three of the first four batters he faced and then exhaled when Duda's potential go-ahead three-run homer died and fell into Jason Heyward's glove on the right-field warning track.Carpenter allowed the Mets to cut their deficit to one run with d'Arnaud's two-out single and then escaped the eighth inning without further damage. The Braves were fortunate to scratch across a run in the top half of the eighth inning. Upton singled against Daisuke Matsuzaka and then stole second before advancing to third base on an Evan Gattis groundout. Upton scored when Matsuzaka uncorked a wild pitch in the process of walking Dan Uggla.With their starting rotation setting the tone on a nightly basis, the Braves have won seven of their past eight games. But as good as the pitchers have been, they have come to fully appreciate the consistent contributions provided by Freddie Freeman, who has batted .378 (34-for-88) over the past 23 games he has played against the Mets.Santana was nowhere near as dominant as he was when he delivered eight scoreless innings against the Mets during his April 9 season debut. Instead of matching the 20 consecutive strikes he threw to begin that previous outing, the veteran hurler issued a leadoff walk to Eric Young Jr., who stole second base and eventually scored when Wright sent a one-out single past a drawn-in Atlanta infield.Wright's single accounted for the only damage incurred by Santana, who has allowed two earned runs in the 21 innings that have encompassed his first three starts. His contributions have proven valuable to the Atlanta's rotation, which has produced a Major League-best 1.46 ERA through this season's first 17 games.Freeman helped the Braves erase their early deficit with a two-out, third-inning single that Mets starter Bartolo Colon fielded to the left of the mound before uncorking an errant throw to first base that allowed both Santana and B.J. Upton to score on the play. Mets manager Terry Collins contested that the ball hit Freeman's foot while he was still in the batter's box. But the umpires did not agree and the play was not challengeable because it was a foul ball that occurred in front of the bases.After Heyward and B.J. Upton singled with one out in the fifth inning, Freeman sent an RBI double to right field to cap his ninth multi-hit game of this young season. Four of those nine games have been played against the Mets.Mark Bowman / MLB.com
After surrendering David Wright's RBI double and Chris Young's two-out RBI single, Kimbrel loaed the bases by walking Lucas Duda. This prompted the entry of Jordan Walden, who ended the game by getting Travis d'Arnaud to ground out to Andrelton Simmons, who made a backhanded stop and a strong throw to first base.Kimbrel was pitching for the first time since April 12. The dominant closer had been shut down for a couple of days.Because the Braves have produced two complete games and had one game rained out this week, David Carpenter was making his first appearance since Monday when he replaced Santana to begin the eighth inning. Carpenter allowed hits, including an RBI single by Young, to three of the first four batters he faced and then exhaled when Duda's potential go-ahead three-run homer died and fell into Jason Heyward's glove on the right-field warning track.Carpenter allowed the Mets to cut their deficit to one run with d'Arnaud's two-out single and then escaped the eighth inning without further damage. The Braves were fortunate to scratch across a run in the top half of the eighth inning. Upton singled against Daisuke Matsuzaka and then stole second before advancing to third base on an Evan Gattis groundout. Upton scored when Matsuzaka uncorked a wild pitch in the process of walking Dan Uggla.With their starting rotation setting the tone on a nightly basis, the Braves have won seven of their past eight games. But as good as the pitchers have been, they have come to fully appreciate the consistent contributions provided by Freddie Freeman, who has batted .378 (34-for-88) over the past 23 games he has played against the Mets.Santana was nowhere near as dominant as he was when he delivered eight scoreless innings against the Mets during his April 9 season debut. Instead of matching the 20 consecutive strikes he threw to begin that previous outing, the veteran hurler issued a leadoff walk to Eric Young Jr., who stole second base and eventually scored when Wright sent a one-out single past a drawn-in Atlanta infield.Wright's single accounted for the only damage incurred by Santana, who has allowed two earned runs in the 21 innings that have encompassed his first three starts. His contributions have proven valuable to the Atlanta's rotation, which has produced a Major League-best 1.46 ERA through this season's first 17 games.Freeman helped the Braves erase their early deficit with a two-out, third-inning single that Mets starter Bartolo Colon fielded to the left of the mound before uncorking an errant throw to first base that allowed both Santana and B.J. Upton to score on the play. Mets manager Terry Collins contested that the ball hit Freeman's foot while he was still in the batter's box. But the umpires did not agree and the play was not challengeable because it was a foul ball that occurred in front of the bases.After Heyward and B.J. Upton singled with one out in the fifth inning, Freeman sent an RBI double to right field to cap his ninth multi-hit game of this young season. Four of those nine games have been played against the Mets.Mark Bowman / MLB.com
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