Smoltz, Braves Shutout Mets

John Smoltz already liked Shea Stadium. Now Marty Malloy has a fondness for the ballpark, too.

John Smoltz pitched a three-hitter for his second shutout of the season and Malloy homered in his major-league debut, leading the Atlanta Braves over the New York Mets 4-0 Sunday.

Smoltz (14-3) beat the Mets in his major-league debut at Shea Stadium on July 23, 1988, the same day he was called up. This time, he struck out a season-high 12 and walked none, getting his second complete game of the season.

"I love pitching here," he said.

Smoltz allowed three two-out singles and didn't let a runner past first.

"It was a consistent day as far as where the pitches went, and I was able to keep them off balance," said Smoltz, 10-2 since coming off the disabled list June 20. "If I'm throwing my fastball the way I was today, I'm going to have success. I threw a lot of good pitches today."

Malloy, 26, had played in the Braves organization since 1992 and hit only 33 homers in the minors. In his second major-league at-bat, he drove a 2-0 pitch from Rick Reed 372 feet into the right-field bullpen in the third inning.

"I don't know what to say," Malloy said. "I'm at a loss for words. I hadn't hit very many home runs in the minor leagues. When I hit it I thought it was going."

Andruw Jones, Ryan Klesko, Andres Galarraga and Malloy hit solo homers for the Braves, who sopped a three-game losing streak.

Reed (16-9) gave up three runs and seven hits in 7 2/3 innings for the Mets, who remained one game behind Chicago in the NL wild-card race after the Cubs lost 4-3 in 10 innings at Pittsburgh.

"I had no idea who he was," Reed said of Malloy. "I do now. I got him out inside the first time, and I went back in there. I think he was looking in there and he got it."

Malloy, brought up from Triple-A Richmond before the game, struck out in the first, before homering. He wound up 2-for-4, adding a single in the sixth.

"I said, `Nice going rook,'" Braves third baseman Chipper Jones told him after the homer. "He came over and asked me when's a good time to bunt, and I said anytime. And he goes deep, and I'm like, `You're messin' up the whole program.'"

Malloy got off the Richmond team bus from Norfolk at 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning, slept for one hour, then left for the airport to catch a flight to New York. Upon arriving, he took a cab from La Guardia Airport to nearby Shea Stadium and found his name listed second on the Braves lineup card.

After the game there, luggage tags still were hanging from the bag in his locker.

"I'm the happiest guy in the world right now," he said.

There were 20 strikeouts in the game, 13 on called third strikes by plate umpire Larry Vanover.

Klesko led off the second with his 17th homer, a drive into the left-field bullpen.

Andruw Jones hit his 27th homer in the seventh, and Galarraga hit his 43rd homer in the ninth, a 447-foot drive off Jeff Tam that went over the left-field bullpen.

Galarraga returned to the lineup after serving a three-game suspension for his involvement in a brawl with the Dodgers on Aug. 22.

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