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NEW YORK -- Craig Kimbrel hardly ever needs help with the ninth inning. He got some Saturday night. Jordan Walden nailed down the final out with the bases loaded after Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez pulled his star closer following a shaky performance in a 7-5 win over the New York Mets. Sidelined recently by shoulder discomfort, Kimbrel threw 24 pitches during his first outing in a week. The Braves didnt want him to go any longer, and Gonzalez thought the reliever was rusty. "The good thing is that we got him on the mound and got him pitching and well go from there," Gonzalez said, adding that Kimbrel was pain-free. "He was fine. He was good. Thats a good, positive sign." Freddie Freeman had three hits and hustled his way through a weird play that brought the Braves two runs when the Mets were unable to challenge a costly incorrect call. Ervin Santana pitched seven crisp innings for his second win over New York in three starts with Atlanta. Justin Upton hit a three-run homer in the ninth to make it 7-3, and that became crucial when the Mets rallied against Kimbrel. They scored twice off the hard-throwing right-hander, who loaded the bases with a two-out walk to Lucas Duda. Thats when Gonzalez went to the mound and lifted Kimbrel, who wasnt happy about it. "Thats what makes him good," Gonzalez said. "At that point of the game he dont care about his arm, he dont care about anything, but he wants to finish that inning." Kimbrel waited an extra moment or two before reluctantly handing over the ball. "Im a competitor and anytime you get taken out, obviously you get upset about it and I did," said Kimbrel, who apologized to Gonzalez after the game. "Thats disrespectful to him, to the team and its just not the type of person I am and I felt awful about it." Walden retired Travis dArnaud on a grounder to secure his first save of the season and Atlantas seventh victory in eight games. Gold Glove shortstop Andrelton Simmons was shaded toward the hole and made a strong throw to get dArnaud. "I was ready. Im always ready," Walden said. Santana (2-0) allowed one run and struck out seven, giving the Braves their latest outstanding start. Despite several significant injuries in spring training, Atlantas rotation entered with a 1.47 ERA -- best in the majors by nearly a full run. David Wright, Daniel Murphy and Chris Young all had three hits for the Mets, held to one by Aaron Harang and two relievers in the series opener Friday night. Bartolo Colon (1-3) gave up three runs in seven innings for New York. Young cut it to 4-2 with an RBI single in the eighth off David Carpenter. Duda made a bid for a three-run homer with a long drive that was caught on the warning track in right field. "I thought it was a home run," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "I thought he hit that ball good." A single by dArnaud brought the Mets within one, but Carpenter ended the inning by retiring Ruben Tejada on an easy grounder with runners at the corners. Uptons fifth homer came off Jose Valverde and followed an intentional walk to Freeman. Atlanta was trailing 1-0 with two outs in the third when Freeman fisted a soft bouncer between the mound and home plate. Colon appeared to be in no particular rush to pick it up -- and then he threw wildly past first base as Freeman hustled down the line. Two runners scored on Colons error, and Freeman was credited with an infield single. But replays showed the ball hit Freemans front foot before bounding onto the grass, so it should have been ruled foul. Collins could not challenge the call because only batted balls that "first land at or beyond the set positions of the first or third base umpire" are subject to video review for fair or foul, according to baseballs replay rules. Since the ball rolled right in front of the plate, the Mets had no recourse. "Nobody saw it and you cant challenge it," Collins said. "You have to understand that this is a whole work in progress." Freeman doubled home a run in the fifth, and Upton scored on Daisuke Matsuzakas wild pitch in the eighth to make it 4-1. NOTES: Braves LHP Mike Minor (left shoulder tendinitis) gave up two earned runs in six innings during a rehab start for Triple-A Gwinnett. He could come off the disabled list next week. ... Backup outfielder Jordan Schafer injured the middle finger on his right hand but said he got X-rays and everything is fine. ... Young doubled in the fourth for his first hit with the Mets. Cheap Astros Jerseys . Sam, who joined the Cowboys in early September, has spent the entire season on the practice roster. Cheap Astros Jerseys China . - Gary Kubiak is John Elways No. http://www.cheapastrosjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-nolan-ryan-jersey . He still wanted out. "It just seemed like the direction they were going didnt fit what I thought my career was going to be," Kesler said. "At the end of the day I want to win a championship and I want to win it now, and four years is a little too long for me. Cheap Craig Biggio Jersey . Not that Durant cared. The only streak he cares about is still intact. Cheap Jose Cruz Jr. Jersey . -- The NFL Players Association wants to determine if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers leaked information about quarterback Josh Freeman being in the NFLs substance abuse program. NASHVILLE -- The Pittsburgh Penguins sent forward James Neal to the Nashville Predators on Friday in exchange for forwards Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling. The addition of Neal signals the Predators emphasis on boosting their offence under new coach Peter Laviolette as they attempt to return to the playoffs after a two-year absence. The Predators have had a reputation as a defence-oriented team for virtually the franchises entire history. The 26-year-old Neal had 27 goals and 34 assists in 59 games for the Penguins this season, which marked the sixth straight year he scored at least 20 goals. Neal scored 40 goals in 2011-12 and had 21 goals in only 40 games during the 2012-13 season. He has 161 career goals and 154 assists in 413 career regular-season games, and has been a force on power plays. Neal had been with the Penguins since 2010 after beginning his career with the Dallas Stars. Hornqvist, 27, had 22 goals and 31 assists in 76 games this season, which marked the fourth time in his career he reached the 20-goal mark.dddddddddddd He has 106 goals and 110 assists in 363 career regular-season games, all with Nashville. Hornqvists best season came in 2009-10, when he scored a career-high 30 goals. "In this deal, we got to drop our cap a little bit with Hornqvist," Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said. "We like Hornqvist as an all-around player. Hornqvist plays at the net, goes to the net, works the corners. We like his all-around play." Spaling, 25, had 13 goals and 19 assists in 71 games for Nashville this season. He has 40 goals and 44 assists in 207 career regular-season games. "We like Spalding, he can play all three positions on the third line," Rutherford said. "I think we were just trying to change the mix of our team a little bit and get a little different type player." ' ' '