Lowe outlasts Santana; Braves end Mets streak

NEW YORK – Derek Lowe outlasted fellow ace pitcher Johan Santana as the Atlanta Braves beat New York, 8-3, on Monday, ending the Mets’ seven-game winning streak in the National League.

Shortstop Jose Reyes’ two-out error in the seventh inning led to four runs, saddling Santana (4-2) with his second loss this season when he did not allow an earned run.

Matt Diaz’s two-run single off Pedro Feliciano snapped a 1-1 tie in the seventh, and Casey Kotchman followed with another two-run single that made it 5-1.

Lowe (5-1) gave up two runs and five hits in 6 2-3 innings, winning his fourth straight start.

The Braves have won five of six on an eight-game road trip against the three teams ahead of them in the NL East.

Santana was charged with two unearned runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings. He lowered his NL-best ERA to 0.78 through seven starts, three of which New York has lost.

At San Francisco, Randy Johnson struck out nine in his 298th career victory, and Randy Winn had three hits and scored three runs in San Francisco’s 11-7 win over Washington.

Ryan Zimmerman extended his hitting streak to 29 games and went 4 for 5 with two homers for the Nationals, including a three-run shot in the ninth.

Zimmerman hit a solo shot in the sixth off the 6-foot-10 Johnson (3-3), who yielded eight hits and four runs while outdueling 6-9 Daniel Cabrera in the tallest pitching matchup in baseball history. (AP)