ATLANTA, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Tommy Hanson allowed only one hit over seven shutout innings Wednesday and the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 4-1 for their fifth straight victory.
The Mets managed just two base runners against Hanson -- Chris Carter on a leadoff walk in the second and David Wright on a one-out double in the fourth.
Hanson struck out three, threw 96 pitches and was relieved in the eighth by Jonny Venters, who surrendered New York's only run on a two-out RBI single by Luis Hernandez. It was the second and final hit of the game for the Mets.
Billy Wagner pitched a perfect ninth for his 31st save.
Atlanta remained 2 1/2 games in front of Philadelphia for the top spot in the National League East. The Phillies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier in the day for their third straight win.
The Braves scored all their runs in the opening two innings. Martin Prado had a two-run double in the first and Omar Infante had an RBI single in the second, when he also scored on a throwing error by shortstop Ruben Tejada.
The loss went to Mike Pelfrey (13-8), who lasted five innings while giving up four runs on nine hits. New York has dropped three in a row.
