Breaking news Braves beat Mets tighten Wild Card

ATLANTA — Michael Harris II had three more hits, including a solo home run and an RBI double, and rookie Spencer Schwellenbach shut down the New York Mets again as the Atlanta Braves cruised to a 5-1 win Tuesday night in the opener of a pivotal three-game series.

“Felt good to come out swinging and get some runs early,” Harris said. “That’s what we did tonight. Pitching was phenomenal from Schwellenbach. We just have to come out and do the same thing the next two days.”

Marcell Ozuna added his 39th home run for Atlanta, which trails the Mets by one game in the National League playoff race with five remaining. New York began the night a half-game ahead of Arizona for the second of three wild cards, while the Braves were 1 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks.

Arizona hosted San Francisco in a later start.

Schwellenbach (8-7) threw seven strong innings, giving up one run and three hits with four strikeouts. He allowed one run and five hits while striking out 15 batters over 14 innings in two wins against the Mets this season.

“The juices were definitely flowing,” Schwellenbach said. “This is basically the playoffs for us. We need wins.”

Harris finished a triple shy of the cycle and has 13 hits in his last five games. He also made a diving catch in center field to rob Mets rookie Luisangel Acuña of a base hit.

“Good timing,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker. “It is the right time of year to get hot.”

Acuña was playing his first major league game in front of older brother Ronald Acuña Jr., who watched from the Atlanta dugout. The star Braves outfielder and reigning NL MVP is out for the season with a knee injury. The siblings exchanged jerseys before the game.