ATLANTA — John Smoltz is back — and so is that pesky knot behind his shoulder.

Smoltz pitched five scoreless innings, Mark Teixeira hit a two-run homer and the Atlanta Braves beat Johan Santana and the New York Mets, 3-1, yesterday to complete a two-game sweep of the rain-shortened series.

Santana (1-1) gave up only one run in seven innings, but Teixeira's eighth-inning drive off Aaron Heilman gave Atlanta a 3-0 lead.

Smoltz (1-0) was making his first start after opening the season on the disabled list with tightness in the back of his right shoulder. He again felt a knot in the trapezoid muscle and left the game after giving up only two hits and two walks.

"It's all right. I just didn't want to take a chance," said Smoltz, who struck out six. "This is my first test. I didn't fail it.

"It kills me to not go back out there for the sixth and possibly the seventh but I'm proud that at least I was able to say it's getting stiff, and not make it worse. ... I'm a seven- and eight-inning guy and that's what it'll be this year, but for the first start, I'll take this."

Braves manager Bobby Cox said he was confident Smoltz will make his next start.

"It is an important game but it is (Smoltz's) first game of the year," Cox said. "We'll see what happens. He'll make his next start."

Rafael Soriano allowed Ryan Church's two-out RBI single in the ninth before finishing for his first save. With runners on first and second, Teixeira made a diving stop of a sharp grounder by Brian Schneider to end the game.

"I was playing one step toward the line," Teixeira said. "I just didn't want a cheap groundball to get down that line. Brian hit it good, but I just wanted to try to smother it and get the out."

Santana, making his first career start at Turner Field, gave up seven hits, struck out three and did not walk a batter.

"We knew it would be a tough game," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "I thought Santana threw very well, too. He kept us in the game."

Reds 8, Phillies 2: Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 594th career homer, a two-run shot that powered host Cincinnati over Philadelphia. Griffey's first homer of the season, a drive off Brett Myers (0-1), left him six shy of becoming the sixth player in major league history to reach 600 homers. He would join Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa.

Brewers 7, Giants 0: Ben Sheets (1-0) struck out eight, walked none and pitched a five-hitter for his second career shutout as host Milwaukee beat San Francisco. It was Sheets' first shutout since a five-hitter against St. Louis on May 29, 2001. He retired his last 10 batters.

Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 2: Mark Reynolds hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Manny Corpas and Stephen Drew hit a tiebreaking drive against Micah Bowie (0-1) leading off a three-run 10th as visiting Arizona completed a three-game sweep.

Dodgers 3, Padres 2: Trevor Hoffman (0-2) allowed Chin-Lung Hu's tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth inning as visiting Los Angeles beat San Diego. Hoffman, baseball's career leader with 526 saves, also lost Tuesday when he blew a save against Houston and has a 12.27 ERA in four games.

Cubs 3, Astros 2: Derrek Lee hit a tiebreaking homer against Oscar Villarreal (0-2) in the seventh as host Chicago beat Houston.

Cardinals 3, Nationals 0: Kyle Lohse (1-0) allowed four hits in seven innings and Rick Ankiel homered as host St. Louis completed a three-game sweep.

Pirates 9, Marlins 2: Ian Snell (1-0) struck out 10 in six innings, allowing two runs — one earned — and four hits as visiting Pittsburgh beat Florida.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 4: Frank Thomas broke a fifth-inning tie with his 11th career grand slam and Vernon Wells added a two-run homer as host Toronto completed a three-game sweep of Boston.

Yankees 2, Rays 0: Chien-Ming Wang (2-0) pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning and Hideki Matsui hit a two-run homer in the fourth as host New York beat Tampa Bay.

Royals 3, Twins 1: Brett Tomko (1-0) allowed six hits in five shutout innings and Alex Gordon hit a two-run single and scored after doubling in the seventh as visiting Kansas City beat Minnesota.

Orioles 3, Mariners 2: Luis Hernandez singled in the winning run with two outs in the ninth off Mark Lowe (0-1), who also threw a tying wild pitch as host Baltimore beat Seattle.

Rangers 10, Angels 4: Gerald Laird had four hits, homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs as visiting Texas beat Los Angeles.

Indians 2, Athletics 1: Cliff Lee (1-0) gave up four hits and struck out four in 6 2/3 innings to win his first start of the season, retiring 10 of his last 12 batters, as visiting Cleveland stopped a three-game losing streak.

White Sox 13, Tigers 2: Nick Swisher homered on the game's second pitch, Carlos Quentin had four RBIs and visiting Chicago handed Detroit its sixth straight loss. The Tigers, the only winless team in baseball, are off to their worst start since going 0-9 at the beginning of the 2003 season.