NEW YORK -- While an offensive eruption might have helped release some frustration, the Braves gained all of the satisfaction they needed courtesy of Julio Teheran's strong start and the two runs that they manufactured during Wednesday night's 3-2 win over the Mets at Citi Field.Freddie Freeman fueled a two-run third inning with a double and Teheran counted a solo home run as the only damage he incurred while working into the seventh inning. 
But the Braves might not have bid adieu to their three-game losing streak without Andrelton Simmons, who prevented a game-tying run in the eighth inning with what might have been the finest of the countless defensive gems he has created in his career.After surrendering a Juan Lagares single that cut the Braves' lead to 1 in the eighth, right-handed reliever Jordan Walden induced a Lucas Duda double play that put Curtis Granderson on third base with two outs. Travis d'Arnaud followed with a sharp grounder that seemed destined to result in an RBI single until Simmons ranged to his right, made a backhanded stop and then showed off his rocket arm to end the inning.Instead of being reminded that they had tallied less than four runs for a fifth straight game, the Braves found themselves reintroduced to the optimism that had been present on Friday night, when they won for the seventh time in a span of eight games.With Teheran surrendering just three hits in 6 1/3 innings, the Braves gave him all of the necessary support after Freeman's opposite-field double put runners at second and third with just one out in the third inning. Justin Upton followed with an RBI groundout that scored Phil Gosselin, who had reached with a bunt single. Shortstop Ruben Tejada's inability to cleanly field Evan Gattis' two-out grounder scored Freeman.Gosselin's bunt and the two grounders produced by Upton and Gattis accounted for the small ball portion of the inning. But the inning was highlighted by the double recorded by Freeman, who has batted .356 (47-for-132) against the Mets since the start of the 2013 season.Jason Heyward got the Braves rolling when he began the game with an opposite-field home run off fellow suburban Atlanta native Zack Wheeler. This was Heyward's fourth leadoff homer of the season and the second surrendered by Wheeler, who was charged with two earned runs and four hits in seven innings.The only blemish on Teheran's line came courtesy of the solo shot that he surrendered to Wilmer Flores with two outs in the second inning. After surrendering Flores' third career homer, Teheran retired 14 of the next 15 batters he faced.Mark Bowman / MLB.com
But the Braves might not have bid adieu to their three-game losing streak without Andrelton Simmons, who prevented a game-tying run in the eighth inning with what might have been the finest of the countless defensive gems he has created in his career.After surrendering a Juan Lagares single that cut the Braves' lead to 1 in the eighth, right-handed reliever Jordan Walden induced a Lucas Duda double play that put Curtis Granderson on third base with two outs. Travis d'Arnaud followed with a sharp grounder that seemed destined to result in an RBI single until Simmons ranged to his right, made a backhanded stop and then showed off his rocket arm to end the inning.Instead of being reminded that they had tallied less than four runs for a fifth straight game, the Braves found themselves reintroduced to the optimism that had been present on Friday night, when they won for the seventh time in a span of eight games.With Teheran surrendering just three hits in 6 1/3 innings, the Braves gave him all of the necessary support after Freeman's opposite-field double put runners at second and third with just one out in the third inning. Justin Upton followed with an RBI groundout that scored Phil Gosselin, who had reached with a bunt single. Shortstop Ruben Tejada's inability to cleanly field Evan Gattis' two-out grounder scored Freeman.Gosselin's bunt and the two grounders produced by Upton and Gattis accounted for the small ball portion of the inning. But the inning was highlighted by the double recorded by Freeman, who has batted .356 (47-for-132) against the Mets since the start of the 2013 season.Jason Heyward got the Braves rolling when he began the game with an opposite-field home run off fellow suburban Atlanta native Zack Wheeler. This was Heyward's fourth leadoff homer of the season and the second surrendered by Wheeler, who was charged with two earned runs and four hits in seven innings.The only blemish on Teheran's line came courtesy of the solo shot that he surrendered to Wilmer Flores with two outs in the second inning. After surrendering Flores' third career homer, Teheran retired 14 of the next 15 batters he faced.Mark Bowman / MLB.com
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