Wisler sharp, Olivera has big homer in Braves’ 6-2 win over Mets

NEW YORK The Braves produced what for them was a rarity, a two-homer, four-run inning that provided Matt Wisler with a three-run lead against the Mets, a team that brings out the best in the rookie pitcher.

Wisler was impressive and got solid support from the lineup and bullpen in a 6-2 win against the Mets at Citi Field, the fourth win in five games for the Braves, who are trying to finish strong in a season turned dismal in the second half.

Jace Peterson and Hector Olivera homered for the Braves, and Adonis Garcia’s two-run, two-out double in the ninth opened a four-run lead against the National league East leaders.

Peterson’s leadoff homer and Olivera’s three-run shot accounted for all the scoring in a fifth inning that provided a 4-1 lead for the Braves, their highest single-inning output in exactly one month. They scored five in the fifth inning of a 9-7 loss Aug. 22 at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

In his first win in nearly two months, Wisler (6-8) was charged with five hits, two runs and one walk with eight strikeouts in seven innings, and left with a 4-1 lead after issuing a leadoff walk in the eighth.

It was the fourth win in six games for the Braves, who swept the last-place Phillies before embarking on this final road trip of the season.

The Braves snapped a five-game losing streak against the National League East-leading Mets and evened the series at a game apiece. With a win Wednesday, they could collect just their third series win in the past 11, and their first series win in that stretch against a team other than the Phillies.

The Mets have lost five of seven games but retained a commanding 6 1/2-game lead over Washington with 11 games to play. If the Mets won six of their remaining 11 games, the Nationals could win all 12 of their remaining games and would still finish behind New York.

Wisler was replaced in the eighth after walking Curtis Granderson to start the inning, and Granderson came around to score on Michael Cuddyer’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly off Edwin Jackson, the fourth pitcher used by the Braves in the inning.

Peter Moylan replaced Wisler and gave up a single by David Wright, the only batter he faced. Matt Marksberry faced two batters and had a pop-up and a walk that loaded the bases before Jackson entered and retired both batters he faced.

Wisler improved to 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA in three starts against the Mets, the only team he’s beaten more than once and the lowest ERA he’s posted against any of the 13 teams he’s faced. The 22-year-old right-hander limited the Mets to six hits and one run in eight innings in his June 19 major league debut, and Wisler’s best performance since then was Tuesday’s outing against the Mets in his 17th major league start.

It was his first win since working seven strong innings (seven hits, two runs) against the Cardinals on July 26. Wisler was 5-1 with a 3.43 ERA in seven starts to that point, but since then he’d posted an 0-7 record and 7.71 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) before Tuesday.

His three best starts this season have been against division leaders: the Mets (twice) and the Cardinals. His next-best after that was against the Yankees, whom Wisler limited to four hits, two runs and four walks in six innings in an Aug. 29 loss that was his top performance during his 10-game winless stretch.

After giving up a David Wright homer and Daniel Murphy double off the center-field wall on consecutive at-bats in the first inning, Wisler allowed only three hits over the next five innings, and Murphy’s ground-rule double in the sixth was the only extra-base hit in that span.

With the Braves trailing 1-0, Peterson led off the fifth inning by pulling a 3-2 changeup over the fence in the right-field corner. It was his sixth homer of the season and first since Aug. 3.

One out later, Michael Bourn singled and advanced on Wisler’s sacrifice before the Mets intentionally walked Nick Markakis to bring up 30-year-old rookie Olivera. The Cuban third baseman took two 90-mph fastballs for balls, and when Verrett threw another fastball that caught plenty of the outer half of the plate, Olivera reached out and crushed it, driving it well past the left-center field fence for his second homer in his 18th major league game and 58th at-bat.

Olivera had not driven in a run in 11 games since Sept. 7, when he had four RBIs with a double and his first homer in his sixth major league game.

The two homers in the inning were just the sixth and seventh of September for the Braves in 21 games, and raised their majors-low total to 90 for the season. They need 10 homers in their final 10 games to avoid being the first Atlanta team to hit fewer than 100 homers since the 1988 team hit 96.

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