MLB: Atlanta 3, New York Mets 2

NEW YORK, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Kenshin Kawakami won his first game since July 8 with a seven-inning stint Thursday and the Atlanta Braves held on to nip the New York Mets 3-2.

Kawakami (6-9) outpitched Johan Santana, allowing the Braves to keep pace with Colorado in the National League wild-card race. Atlanta trails the Rockies by four games.

In his six previous starts, Kawakami had gone 0-3 with three no-decisions. He limited the Mets to a run on seven hits while striking out five.

Rafael Soriano allowed a two-out single in the ninth before nailing down his 18th save.

Ryan Church drove in Atlanta's first run with a third-inning double and he scored later in the frame on a sacrifice fly by Omar Infante. Brian McCann added a solo homer in the fourth to give Atlanta a 3-1 advantage.

Santana (13-9) gave up all three runs on nine hits in seven innings. He is 2-2 in his last six starts.