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nATLANTA -- For Ervin Santana, throwing strike after strike was even better than a no-hitter -- especially when his impressive command came in his Atlanta debut. 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. Billy Smith Jersey . The Toronto Maple Leafs forward and Nashville Predators goaltender highlighted Mondays waiver transactions, with Calgarys Chuck Kobasew and Edmontons Philip Larsen also being placed on waivers. Bryan Trottier Jersey . - No matter the lineup or location, the San Antonio Spurs are rolling through the NBA again this spring, just the way they have for most of the last two decades. http://www.islanderssale.com/authentic-p...landers-jersey/. Funny, they looked like longtime friends during Pittsburghs 5-1 demolition of Dallas on Tuesday night. Quick to the puck and even quicker to the net, the Penguins top line overwhelmed the suddenly struggling Stars as Pittsburgh bounced back from a dismal weekend sweep at the hands of Philadelphia by jumping on Dallas early. New York Islanders Jerseys .ca. Kerry, In the closing minutes of the second period of Game 4 between Pittsburgh and Columbus there were the remnants of two broken sticks behind the Pittsburgh net. John Tavares Jersey . Listen to the Rangers vs. Kings live on TSN Radio starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also stream the post-game press conferences live on TSN.DENVER -- An elbow to the chin staggered Timofey Mozgov for only a moment. Shaking off the blow, the 7-foot-1 centre went on to match his career high with 23 points, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 111-99 on Wednesday night to win consecutive games for the first time this season. "Its OK. Its basketball. You just have to keep playing, if you can," said Mozgov, who fell to the floor but quickly scrambled to his feet after taking an inadvertent elbow from Jordan Hill when the Lakers forward went in for a jump hook during the third quarter. "He was like a good, old Russian boxer, didnt give in," said teammate Nate Robinson. "I just love the way he plays, he competes. He doesnt complain, just plays hard." Mozgov also had nine rebounds and four blocked shots to help first-year Nuggets coach Brian Shaw, who was part of five championship teams with the Lakers as a player and assistant coach, beat Los Angeles in his first matchup against his former team. "We played big and pretty much just dominated inside and kept the pressure on them by running the floor," Shaw said. Kenneth Faried joined Mozgov in mixing it up in the paint, scoring 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. "Theyre good players," Hill said. "It was their night. Defensively, we didnt help each other the way were supposed to and it cost us." Ty Lawson added 19 for the Nuggets, who won their fourth straight against the Lakers, their longest winning streak against Los Angeles since 1994. "They just came at us," Lakers coach Mike DAntoni said. "We didnt react very well to their speed and athleticism. That was a recurring theme throughout the game, their athleticism. They just beat us to the ball. Their foot speed was more than ours most of the time." Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 25 points. Both teams have been impacted by injuries, though the Nuggets were bolstered by the return of forward Wilson Chandler, who saw his first action oof the season after missing the first six games with a strained left hamstring.dddddddddddd. Chandler scored 12 points, making a pair of key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. The Lakers are still without Kobe Bryant, who continues to recover from surgery last spring to repair to a torn Achilles tendon, and Steve Nash remains sidelined by a nerve problem in his back. Nuggets centre JaVale McGee is out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his left leg and Danilo Gallinari is recovering from reconstructive knee surgery stemming from an injury late last season. Mozgov jammed home a dunk to put the Nuggets up by 10 with 36 seconds left in the third quarter, but the Lakers scored six straight points to close the period, starting with a 3-pointer by Nick Young to pull to 83-79 going into the fourth. The Nuggets again pulled away, scoring 10 of the first 13 points starting the final period, including a layup by Robinson off a stolen inbounds pass, putting Denver in front 93-82. After a basket by Gasol and a free throw by Hill helped the Lakers narrow the gap to 93-87, the Nuggets responded with a 10-0 run that included two 3-pointers by Chandler and a pair of free throws by Mozgov for a 16-point cushion with about 5 minutes remaining. It was more than the Lakers could overcome. The Lakers pulled to 60-54 at halftime after trailing by as many as 13 points earlier. Chandler also hit a couple of 3-pointers in the last 4 minutes of the second quarter to help offset a 7-0 run that the Lakers used to get close. NOTES: The 60 first-half points and the final points total boseven games. ... The Lakers lost the back end of a back-to-back after beating New Orleans the night before. ... Gasol has had 25 points and 12 rebounds in the same game 54 times in his career. ... Mozgov also had 23 points on Jan. 30, 2011 against Detroit while with the New York Knicks. ' ' '