New York — Matt Harvey can't seem to find that groove this season. The smooth delivery, those overpowering pitches.

Not even against the weakest lineup in the league.

Matt Wisler wiped out the New York Mets with eight innings of one-hit ball and rookie Mallex Smith hit a rare Atlanta homer off the scuffling Harvey, sending the Braves to a 3-0 victory Tuesday night.

"I'm out there feeling for every pitch and it's frustrating. Going through one of those times right now where everything feels different, being on the mound is tough," Harvey said. "I've looked at so much video; there's only so much you can look at. Just got to find it and it starts tomorrow."

Asdrubal Cabrera's clean single to center field with one out in the fifth was the lone hit for the defending NL champions. Wisler (1-2) walked two, struck out four and beat the Mets for the third time in his two major league seasons.

New York lost for only the second time in 11 games and fell to 14-4 in its last 18.

A.J. Pierzynski added an RBI double and the Braves, with the worst record in the majors at 7-19, won for the first time in five meetings with the Mets this year.

Harvey (2-4) didn't feel well Monday and was given fluids to help him recover Tuesday afternoon, manager Terry Collins said. The right-hander, who has a 4.76 ERA after six starts, pitched out of a second-inning jam but faltered in the fifth and sixth.

"I'm not feeling good with my mechanics. Not feeling good throwing the ball," said Harvey, adding he didn't think his illness had any effect on his outing. "It's been a frustrating start but we have a long way to go."

The speedy Smith sliced a one-out drive into the left-field corner in the fifth and slid into third with what appeared to be a triple.

But a 50-second crew chief replay review showed the ball barely cleared the orange line on the wall near the 335-foot sign. The initial call was overturned and Smith, batting ninth behind Wisler, trotted to the plate with his first major league home run. He hit 13 in four minor league seasons.

It was only the sixth homer this year for the Braves, by far the fewest in the majors, and third in their last 21 games.

"Heck yeah, I just hit a home run off Matt Harvey! That's exactly what went through my head," said Smith, who turns 23 on Friday.

Ex-Met Kelly Johnson singled leading off the sixth and stole second. He scored on the double by Pierzynski, who later dashed home on a wild pitch.

Harvey has permitted 18 earned runs this season, 13 in the fifth and sixth innings. The 2013 All-Star was the NL comeback player of the year last season after a successful return from Tommy John surgery.

"He was throwing 95 mph. It wasn't like he was wild or all over the place or his velocity was down. I mean, I thought he threw the ball fine," Pierzynski said. "Luckily for us, our pitcher outpitched him."

Harvey walked to the dugout with his head down when he was pulled after 100 pitches and 5 2/3 innings. He gave up eight hits and walked two while striking out four on a damp and dreary, 53-degree night. He had won his previous two starts after losing his first three.

"He might have been getting a little fatigued by the sixth. Again, we expect perfection and you're not going to get it," Collins said. "Matt's struggling with some mechanical things right now that he's been working hard on."

One pitch after Cabrera singled, Wisler got Kevin Plawecki to ground into an inning-ending double play. Arodys Vizcaino worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save.

New nemesis

The 23-year-old Wisler is 3-1 with a 1.55 ERA in four starts and 29 innings against New York. He tossed eight impressive innings to beat Jacob deGrom and the Mets 2-1 in his big league debut last June 19. The right-hander was acquired in the April 2015 trade that sent All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel to San Diego.

Power stripped

The Mets homered 34 times in their previous 16 games, most in the majors since April 15. That included three home runs in the first inning Monday against Atlanta starter Mike Foltynewicz. But they haven't scored in 16 innings since.

Trainer's room

Mets: Lefty reliever Josh Edgin (Tommy John surgery) pitched a scoreless inning Monday night in his first outing since his rehab assignment was moved to Triple-A Las Vegas. Edgin has yielded one run over 5 1/3 innings in seven minor league rehab games.

Up next

Braves: RHP Jhoulys Chacin (1-1, 3.27 ERA) starts the series finale Wednesday afternoon. He lost to Steven Matz and the Mets on April 23 in Atlanta.

Mets: After a dreadful outing in his first start of the season, Matz (3-1, 3.86) has won three in a row, compiling a 0.93 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 19 1/3 innings during that stretch. The rookie left-hander has seven major league wins, most by any Mets pitcher through his first 10 regular-season games. Two of those victories have come against the Braves.