Freddie Freeman's home run got the Braves off and running. (Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)
ATLANTA — The supposedly rebuilding Atlanta Braves are off to an impressive and unexpected start.
Freddie Freeman homered and Julio Teheran allowed just one hit until the seventh inning as the Braves improved to 5-0 with a 5-3 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday night.
The start is the Braves’ best since they began 7-0 in 1994 and it comes after they traded away closer Craig Kimbrel and power threats Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and Evan Gattis.
Teheran (2-0) had allowed only three base runners through six innings before the Mets took advantage of his wildness and an error to score three times in the seventh.
The right-hander walked two after a leadoff single by first baseman Lucas Duda, and the Mets scored on a miscue by third baseman Albert Callaspo and a hit batter before being relieved by rookie right-hander Brandon Cunniff.
The third run scored when shortstop Wilmer Flores hit into a double, but left-hander Luis Avilan came in and got the third out on a ground ball.
Avilan pitched a perfect eighth and right-hander Jim Johnson, who had seasons of 51 and 50 saves with the Baltimore Orioles, pitched around an infield hit in the ninth for his first save with the Braves.
The Atlanta bullpen has yet to allow a run in 18 innings this season and has 21 strikeouts to three walks.
The loss dropped the Mets, which had just three hits, to 55-100 at Turner Field and they reached another unwanted milestone with their 200th loss all time in Atlanta.
Freeman connected with 2-1 cutter from Mets starter Dillon Gee leading off the second inning and sent a high drive to right-center field that slipped over the fence just out of the reach of leaping right fielder Curtis Granderson.
It was Freeman’s 14th career homer against the Mets in 74 games and his 60th RBI. His average against New York coming into Saturday was .313.
“We haven’t got him out in four years,” Mets manager Terry Collins said before the game. “To me, he’s one of the best hitters in the National League.”
Gee was 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA against the Braves last season and had a 2.79 ERA in 14 games against them before this year, including 3-1 with a 2.23 ERA at Turner Field.
The right-hander was hit around this time, though, as the Braves used three consecutive doubles, then a triple and a single to score four times in the fifth inning for a 5-0 lead.
Catcher Christian Bethancourt and shortstop Andrelton Simmons had RBI doubles, center field Eric Young Jr. hit a run-scoring triple and right fielder Nick Markakis added an RBI single.
Teheran gave up a two-out double to first baseman Lucas Duda in the first inning and a leadoff walk to Flores in the third. A double play ended that inning, though, and Teheran retired nine straight batters before walking Granderson with two outs in the sixth.
NOTES: RHP Jenrry Mejia, who saved 28 games for the Mets last season, received an 80-game suspension without pay after testing positive for anabolic steroid Stanozolol. Mejia was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday after experiencing pain in the back of his right elbow warming up in the bullpen on Opening Day. “I know the rules are the rules and I will accept my punishment, but I can honestly say I have no idea how a banned substance ended up in my system,” Mejia said in a statement. … RHP Bartolo Colon, who is 3-0 with a 0.43 ERA lifetime in Atlanta, will start Sunday’s series finale for the Mets against LHP Alex Wood. Both pitchers won their first start. … Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, who is using partial platoons at all except three positions, had his fifth starting lineup in as many games on Saturday. … The homer by 3B David Wright in the Mets’ 5-3 loss on Friday was his 19th at Turner Field. The only visiting player to have more is Phillies 1B Ryan Howard with 20. … After setting a major league record by going 0-for-64 on at-bats to start last season, Mets pitchers broke through early this year as LHP Jonathon Niese delivered a fifth-inning hit on Friday to end an 0-for-8.
