NEW YORK (Interstat) — Martín Pérez pitched seven innings of one-run ball and Michael Harris II broke a tie with a solo home run in the eighth inning as the Atlanta Braves defeated the New York Mets 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field.

Playing before a crowd of 38,269 in the second game of a three-game series, the Braves improved to 46-24, the best record in the National League. The Mets fell to 31-39.

Atlanta struck first in the second inning against Mets starter Sean Manaea. Matt Olson led off with a single and scored on Eli White’s double to right field. White, who finished with two doubles and a home run, advanced to third on the play but was stranded when Jorge Mateo struck out and Ha-Seong Kim flied out.

The Braves doubled their lead in the fourth inning when White led off with a home run to left field, his third of the season. Manaea settled after that, retiring the next three batters in order. He finished with six innings pitched, allowing four hits and two earned runs while striking out six.

Pérez worked efficiently, allowing just four hits over seven innings. He struck out six and walked one. The only damage against him came in the sixth inning. Bo Bichette led off with a double, advanced on a fly out and scored on Mark Vientos’ single to left field, cutting the Braves’ lead to 2-1. Pérez induced a called third strike on Marcus Semien to end the inning.

The Braves answered immediately in the eighth inning against Mets reliever Austin Warren. With one out, Harris II drove a 1-1 pitch over the right-field wall for his 14th home run, restoring the two-run advantage. Ozzie Albies followed with a single but was left stranded.

Raisel Iglesias pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 14th save, striking out one and working around a leadoff double by Juan Soto that was initially ruled a home run before being overturned on review. Iglesias then got Vientos to strike out, walked Semien and induced a game-ending double play from Francisco Alvarez.

Harris II finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs. White went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two runs scored. Olson added a single. Bichette led the Mets with two hits, including a double, and scored their only run. Vientos was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Manaea took the loss, falling to 1-2.

Atlanta’s defense was sharp, turning two double plays. The Braves also got key contributions from their bullpen after Pérez departed. Robert Suarez pitched a scoreless eighth inning, retiring all three batters he faced.

The Mets threatened in the third inning when Carson Benge drew a walk after a challenge overturned the original call, but Pérez left him stranded. New York put two runners on in the fifth on a single by MJ Melendez and a force out, but a double play ended the inning.

Pérez improved to 5-3, lowering his ERA to 3.12. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts.

Saturday’s game lasted 2 hours, 22 minutes.

The Braves had lost the series opener 7-5 on Friday but have now won six of their last nine games. The Mets had won two of three entering the night.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Atlanta 6, New York 4. The ELO system gave Atlanta a 57.80 percent probability to win. Atlanta was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of four runs went under the over/under line of 8.5.