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. Oliver Drake 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. Anthony Banda Jersey . Simona Halep of Romania claimed the fifth title of her career by beating Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (1), 6-2 in the womens final. After trading sets, Gasquet trailed 4-3 in the decider but broke back to 4-4 in a game that went to seven deuces with Kukushkin constantly failing on his forehand shots. Jose Alvarado Jersey .com) - Avery Bradley scored 21 points and the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets, 89-81. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/ .Former NBA forward Morris Peterson has been added to TSNs Toronto Raptors broadcast team.Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Eric Fehr and Marcus Johansson each registered a pair of goals, as Washington spoiled the head coaching debut of Peter Horachek by picking up a 6-2 victory in Toronto on Wednesday. Alex Ovechkin and Brooks Laich also lit the lamp for the Capitals, who have won three in a row and recorded points in each of their last five (4-0-1). John Carlson and Troy Brouwer each chipped in a pair of assists to back a 31-save effort by Braden Holtby. Daniel Winnik and Trevor Smith supplied offense for the Maple Leafs, who fired Randy Carlyle on Tuesday and have lost eight of 10 overall. Jonathan Bernier allowed five goals on 25 shots in the setback. Final Score: Boston 3, Pittsburgh 2 (OT) Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Patrice Bergeron scored two goals, including the game-winner with 2:17 remaining in overtime, as the visiting Boston Bruins edged the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Wednesday night. Bergeron got behind Pittsburgh defenseman Simon Despres and redirected Milan Lucics shot from the point. After a lengthy review to determine if the puck was hit by a high stick, Bergeron was ruled to have deflected the puck in legally. Tuukka Rask made 37 saves for the Bruins, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Each defeat during the skid came after regulation. Evgeni Malkin had a goal and one assist and Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves for Pittsburgh, which has dropped six of eight. Final SScore: Detroit 3, Calgary 2 Calgary, AB (SportsNetwork. Anthony Banda Rays Jersey. com) - Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader each posted a goal and an assist to lead the Detroit Red Wings in a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. Riley Sheahan had the other goal and Petr Mrazek stopped 28 shots for the Red Wings, who have won three of their last four. Mikael Backlund had a goal and an assist and Mason Raymond notched the other marker for the Flames, who have lost their last two. Starting goaltender Karri Ramo left halfway through the second period after a collision with his own player when he came out to play the puck. He took a knee to the head and was escorted into the locker room after stopping 12-of-13 shots. Jonas Hiller allowed two goals on nine shots in relief. Final Score: NY Rangers 4, Anaheim 1 Anaheim, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves and the New York Rangers scored three goals during the third period en route to a 4-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello and Dominic Moore each scored in the final stanza and Derick Brassard lit the lamp in a third straight game for the Rangers, who have won three straight games and 11 of their last 12. Francois Beauchemin scored on the power play and Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 26-of-29 shots fired his way in his second start of the season as the Ducks were unable to build upon their 4-3 shootout win in Nashville on Sunday. ' ' '