Smoltz Helps Braves Stand Their Ground : Baseball: He strikes out 10 in eight innings during 4-0 victory over Reds. Atlanta’s victory is its fourth in a row.

CINCINNATI —  The Atlanta Braves reached a couple of milestones and kept the pressure on the Dodgers Monday night.

Their 4-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds gave Atlanta only its second 90-win season and put the Braves 23 games over .500 (90-67) for the first time since 1983, the year after their last National League West title.

With the Dodgers’ victory over San Diego, the Braves remained one game behind in NL West with their fourth consecutive victory.

Atlanta starter John Smoltz (13-13), who has been unbeaten since Aug. 15, overcame control problems to go eight innings against the Reds, giving up only two second-inning singles.

He also walked three and threw three wild pitches with his sharp-breaking curve but escaped trouble by striking out 10.

“His curve was bouncing a lot, but he was getting hitters to swing at it,” Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox said. “He was just about unhittable.”

Mike Bielecki, obtained from the Chicago Cubs as part of a four-player deal Sunday night, gave up a double in the ninth to Barry Larkin before closing out the combined three-hitter. No Cincinnati baserunner reached third.

The Braves took command with a four-run third inning against the Reds’ Jack Armstrong (7-13). The loss means the Reds can finish no higher than fourth a year after their World Series championship.

Lonnie Smith led off the third with a walk, and singles by Mark Lemke and Terry Pendleton loaded the bases with none out. Smith then managed to score the first run by tagging up on David Justice’s fly ball to shallow center. Billy Hatcher had plenty of time to throw home, but Smith’s headfirst dive into Joe Oliver’s mitt allowed the ball to dart to the backstop as the other two runners advanced.

“I figured it was early in the game, give it a shot,” Smith said. “There’s a little bit of luck involved in this.”

Luck was on his side.

“You’ve got to be aggressive,” Hatcher said. “That’s what got them where they are. I just made a bad throw.”

After Ron Gant popped out, Armstrong decided to pitch to Sid Bream with first base open. Bream, a lifetime .333 hitter against the right-hander, lined the first pitch to center for two more runs.

Then came the most interesting foot race of the game. Greg Olson followed with a double to the wall in right-center, and Bream, who had arthroscopic knee surgery June 28, scored from first base standing up for a 4-0 lead. The inning ended when Olson was thrown out at home by Paul O’Neill on Rafael Belliard’s single to right.

The Reds threatened in the first but took themselves out of it when Larkin swung and missed at strike three while Hal Morris was breaking toward second on what was supposed to be a double steal. Morris was thrown out trying to return to first for a double play.

“The first inning could have been a big inning for them. When I got out of it I said, ‘This is huge,’ ” Smoltz said. “I didn’t want them to get ahead of us.”