ATLANTA -- Seven innings of Bartolo Colons dominance only made Jose Valverdes ninth-inning escape look even scarier. Colon combined with two relievers on an eight-hitter, Ruben Tejada drove in two runs with two hits and the New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 4-0 on Tuesday night. Valverde loaded the basses in the ninth before Jason Heyward flied to the warning track in centre field to end it. Colon, 40, gave up six hits and no walks, struck out five and didnt allow more than one baserunner in any inning until the seventh as he outpitched Atlantas Aaron Harang (1-1). Travis dArnaud said catching Colon (1-1) is "a lot of fun." "He commands all his pitches," dArnaud said. "What else could you ask for from a pitcher?" Tejada scored on a wild pitch by Harang in the third and had run-scoring singles in the seventh and eighth innings. The Braves honoured the 40th anniversary of Hank Aarons 715th homer in a pregame ceremony attended by baseball commissioner Bud Selig. Al Downing, the former Dodgers left-hander who gave up the homer, attended the ceremony and threw out the first pitch. There was little left to get excited about for the home crowd until the ninth. Justin Upton and Dan Uggla had back-to-back singles off Valverde. Evan Gattis, who returned after missing two games -- and losing seven pounds -- because of a stomach virus, hit a fielders choice grounder that forced Upton at third. Valverde then fielded Andrelton Simmons grounder, turned and threw wide of second base for an error, leaving the bases loaded. Pinch-hitter Gerald Laird popped out to second base and Lagares caught Heywards shot to end the game. "I knew I just missed it," Heyward said. "Id like to be in that spot every time. Id like to come through." Heyward, who was 0-for-5, is hitting .107. Mets manager Terry Collins said the Braves had aggressive swings in the ninth because Valverde was throwing strikes. "The ninth inning is a tough inning," Collins said. "Youve got a club like the Braves who swing the bats and this guy attacks the strike zone. Theyre gonna get some hits. When he starts missing is when he gets in trouble. When he throws strikes he gets outs because youve got to swing." Valverde moved into the closers role as the replacement for Bobby Parnell, who had season-ending Tommy John surgery on Tuesday. Harang was hurt by control problems in an otherwise strong outing. He allowed only two hits with nine strikeouts in six innings, but he gave up four walks, including two in the third. Tejada led off with a walk and eventually scored on Harangs wild pitch to David Wright. "I tried to put him away, a 2-2 count, I threw a slider in the dirt," Harang said. "It took an awkward bounce, got away from Evan. "Other than that I felt good. I kept them off-balance. We just werent able to work anything up on Colon tonight." The Mets added two runs off Braves rookie Gus Schlosser in the seventh. Tejada and Young had run-scoring singles. Braves left-hander Luis Avilan left the game in the seventh with a left hamstring cramp after he dodged Daniel Murphys broken-bat on a single. Avilan was limping and was unable to make a warm-up throw but said after the game he did not expect to miss any time. Collins asked for a review when Juan Lagares was called out at first base on a grounder to reliever Ian Thomas in the eighth. Following a 3-minute review, Lagares was ruled safe. NOTES: Braves RHP Cory Gearrin confirmed he will have season-ending Tommy John surgery. The Braves previously lost starting pitchers Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy to season-ending elbow injuries this spring. ... RHP Ervin Santana will make his first start for the Braves on Wednesday after signing with the team on March 12. RHP Zack Wheeler will start for the Mets. ... The Mets said Parnells right elbow ligament-replacement surgery, performed by Dr. David Altchek, was successful. The team announced plans for the surgery on Sunday. Nike Air Vapormax Navy+Multi-Color . 1. CAVALIERS: At 19-20, theyre a mess. Watched the game Tuesday night vs. Phoenix and their defence was poor (107 points and 52 per cent for Suns). Where is the high level play from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James (13 turnovers!)? Kevin Love looks like a man thats wondering what he got himself into. Off White Vapormax Clearance . Thats 14 consecutive losses to the two-time defending champs, and most of them were over before they even began. Result notwithstanding, Sundays game had a very different feel to it. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-v...-clearance.html. CHAUNCEY BILLUPS (Pistons): Yes they got Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings in the off-season and Andre Drummond is a beast (teams are kicking themselves for passing on him - he rebounds and block shots every game - thats two more discernable and significant skills than most guys in his draft class), but dont for a second discount the impact of having a savvy veteran like Billups on your team. Wholesale Vapormax 2 . -- Martin Kaymer never lost sight of opportunity even amid so much evidence of trouble in the closing stretch Sunday at The Players Championship. Wholesale Vapormax 95 . 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.MILWAUKEE -- The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Josh Beckett on the 15-day disabled list for the third time this season prior to their game Friday with the Milwaukee Brewers. Beckett, who is 6-6 with a 2.88 ERA in 20 starts for the Dodgers this season, has a left hip impingement. The move is retroactive to August 4. He is expected to be about two weeks. The 14-year veteran made three starts since being reinstated on July 22 from the same injury which occurred on July 8.ddddddddddddHis first time on the disabled list was March 22 when he had a right-thumb contusion. Right-hander Roberto Hernandez, acquired Thursday from Philadelphia, was activated and starts Friday nights game against the Brewers. Hernandez is 6-8 with a 3.87 ERA this season, his first in the National League. In his last seven starts, hes posted a 2.85 ERA. ' ' '