Former Saginaw Heritage and Nebraska star Spencer Schwellenbach continued his unlikely rise to become one of the Atlanta Braves’ most valuable players.

The Braves entered Tuesday’s game against the New York Mets as underdogs, two games behind the Mets in the battle for the second wild-card spot in the National League and 1 ½ games behind Arizona in the battle for the last spot.

Schwellenbach again contributed, dominating the Mets in a 5-1 victory. Michael Harris II had three hits, including a solo home run and an RBI double for the Braves.

“Schnellbach’s pitching was phenomenal,” Harris told the Associated Press. “We just have to go out and do the same thing the next two days.”

Schwellenbach allowed three hits, one walk and one run in seven innings and had four strikeouts. He threw 62 of 87 pitches for strikes, lowering his earned run average to 3.47 and improving his record to 8-7.

In two games against the Mets this season, Schwellenbach allowed one run and five hits in 14 innings and had 15 strikeouts in two wins.

“The energy was definitely there,” Schwellenbach told the Associated Press. “This is basically the playoffs for us. We need wins.”

New York has a record of 87-70, while Atlanta has a record of 86-71 heading into Wednesday’s game at 7:20 p.m. in Atlanta. Chris Sale is scheduled to start for Atlanta on Wednesday.