New York ? It had been four long years between wins as a starter for John Smoltz — so long ago that he couldn’t recall the last one, June 3, 2001, against Pittsburgh.

So Tuesday night’s 4-3 victory over the New York Mets was special for the man who has returned to the Braves rotation this season after posting 154 saves out of the bullpen.

“It’s a big part of the process,” Smoltz said. “You need a game like this. It means there’s a lot of life left.”

Smoltz, who will be 38 on May 15, returned from the bullpen to the rotation as the Braves shuffled their pitching staff this season. He had struggled with little run support in his first four starts and went into the seventh inning on a cold, windy night at Shea Stadium when he didn’t have his best stuff.

“It was a battle,” he said. “I was grinding out there. I didn’t have a good splitter or curve. The ball felt like a cueball. I abandoned a pitch or two. I didn’t have a good feel of the ball. Patience paid off. The last three games were a grind, just like this one.”

The difference was this time Smoltz (1-3) had some runs to work with. The Braves pushed across three in the first inning against Pedro Martinez, matching the total they had scored for Smoltz in his first four starts this season.

“It felt nice and kind of weird,” Smoltz said. “It was the first time I’ve had a lead out of the gate. I wanted to make sure I kept it.”

He did, taking the Braves into the seventh inning and leaving with a 4-1 lead.

“He didn’t have his best stuff but he’s a competitor,” said catcher Johnny Estrada, who drove in three runs with a pair of doubles. “He knew what he had to do to get through seven innings.”

Smoltz mixed a four-seam fastball, a two-seamer and some changeups for the first time all year.

“You do whatever you can to get them off stride,” Smoltz said.

The Braves barely held on after closer Dan Kolb allowed two runs in the ninth. Jose Reyes’ second double of the game and pinch-hitter Mike Piazza’s single pulled the Mets within 4-3, and a single by Carlos Beltran put runners on first and third and knocked Kolb out of the game. John Foster came in and got Cliff Floyd to pop out for his first career save.

“That’s what I love about this team,” Mets manager Willie Randolph said. “We keep coming back. We kept playing.”

The game was a rematch of the classic duel 16 days ago, when Smoltz struck out 15 and Martinez pitched a two-hitter. This one failed to match that game’s intensity, with both pitchers giving up early runs.