Mets 4, Braves 2: Dilson Herrera and Curtis Granderson homered, and Jonathon Niese carried a shutout into the eighth inning as visiting New York won its second straight in the weekend series.

Herrera connected in the second inning, finishing 2-for-3 before leaving the game in the sixth with strained right quadriceps, and Granderson went 2-for-4 with a solo shot in the eighth. Niese (9-11) gave up two runs on seven hits with one walk and five strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings, and Jenrry Mejia earned his 27th save as the Mets won for the third time in four games.

Atlanta starter Mike Minor (6-12) allowed a first-inning run before leaving the game with left shoulder discomfort. David Hale came on and allowed Herrera’s homer, surrendering two runs on five hits in three innings, and Freddie Freeman delivered a two-run single in the eighth but the Braves lost for the seventh time in eight games to fall seven games behind Pittsburgh for the National League's second wild card.

Minor walked Eric Young Jr. to start the game and hit Daniel Murphy with a pitch, and two hitters later Lucas Duda’s sacrifice fly plated Young. Granderson doubled off Hale to begin the second and Eric Campbell singled – with Atlanta right fielder Emilio Bonifacio throwing out Granderson at the plate – before Herrera crushed a 3-2 pitch just inside the left-field foul pole to make it 3-0.

Granderson hit a 1-1 pitch from David Carpenter over the right-field fence to lead off the eighth and make it 4-0. Atlanta finally got on board in the eighth when Freeman lined a single to center off Josh Edgin to plate Joey Terdoslavich and Bonifacio, but Carlos Torres retired Justin Upton and Chris Johnson with two runners on to end the threat.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Atlanta C Evan Gattis, who missed 10 games with a kidney stone, grounded out to third as a pinch-hitter in the fifth. … New York 2B Wilmer Flores went 1-for-5, extending his hitting streak to seven games. … Braves RF Jason Heyward (bruised left thumb) did not play for the second consecutive game.