For a guy who's pitched here for 20 years, John Smoltz managed to create some intrigue for Sunday's start against Johan Santana and the New York Mets.

After starting only once during spring training and delaying his season debut a week with a sore muscle, Smoltz did what he usually does: dominated.

Pouya Dianat/AJC (ENLARGE)

Mets' outfield Ryan Church and a Braves' fan reach out to attempt to catch Mark Teixeira's two-run homer off Mets reliever Aaron Heilman in the eighth.

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Using a backdoor slider, the occasional curveball and a split-finger fastball he hadn't used in spring training, Smoltz pitched five shutout innings to beat the Mets 3-1.

"Smoltzie is funny like that," Chipper Jones said. "He always seems to rise to the challenge. I can't think of a bigger challenge than having to face the Mets and Santana."

Smoltz allowed only two hits, walked two and struck out six to move within 20 strikeouts of 3,000 for his career. He needs 19 strikeouts to become only the 16th pitcher in history to do that.

"I can't tell you the relief it was to get out there," said Smoltz, who felt the pressure of creating his own spring training regimen and showing it could work. "I try to execute the plan all spring and it was almost perfect, and then you had a little setback. Then you've got to deal with 'I'm a start away, a pitch away [from retirement].' "

Pitching his second season in his 40s brings new challenges for Smoltz, and that will continue.

He came out after only 78 pitches Sunday because the knot in his shoulder resurfaced in the fifth inning, but Smoltz said it won't prevent him from making his next start Friday in Washington.

"That's frustrating for me, but I recognized it, and I had a talk with myself when I walked off the mound to the dugout," Smoltz said. "Usually I convince myself to go back out there. I just sat down and said 'I'm sorry but that's it.' Those are going to be some of the things I have to do. Later in the year it shouldn't be that big an issue, but early on it's best that it went this route."

He went five innings to Santana's seven and got only one run of support off the ace the Mets acquired over the winter on Yunel Escobar's double in the third. But the Braves made it hold up on a Mark Teixeira two-run blast the inning after Santana left the game. Teixeira was 4-for-25 (.160) on the season when he took Aaron Heilman over the right field wall in the eighth inning for his second home run of the year.

"I was glad to see Johan get out of there," Teixeira said.

The Braves swept the rain-shortened two-game series from the Mets, to assuage a 1-3 start to the season, including three one-run losses and a trip back to the disabled list for Mike Hampton. Beating Santana didn't hurt either.

"We needed to prove to ourselves that we can beat him," said Jones, given the Braves play the Mets 16 more times this season. "We had him on the ropes last year and had him beat, and gave it up late in Minnesota. ... He's going to carve guys up at times because he executes his pitches so well. We didn't strike out a lot. Scratched across a run, and put some pressure on him."

Tim Hudson had a 2-0 lead through eight innings on Santana last June in Minnesota, and the Twins came back with three runs on closer Bob Wickman.

On Sunday, four Braves relievers combined to hold the lead and get Smoltz his first win of the season. Closer Rafael Soriano allowed three baserunners and a run in the ninth, but he picked up his first save of the season after Teixeira smothered Brian Schneider's groundball to end the game.