MLB

Mets righty Hefner rocked in blowout

UGLY SCENE: Eric Young Jr. shakes hands with Braves pitcher Tim Hudson after stepping on his ankle at first base, forcing the veteran righty to be carted off the field with a right ankle fracture last night at Citi Field.

UGLY SCENE: Eric Young Jr. shakes hands with Braves pitcher Tim Hudson after stepping on his ankle at first base, forcing the veteran righty to be carted off the field with a right ankle fracture last night at Citi Field. (Paul J. Bereswill)

UGLY SCENE: Eric Young Jr. shakes hands with Braves pitcher Tim Hudson after stepping on his ankle at first base, forcing the veteran righty to be carted off the field with a right ankle fracture last night at Citi Field. (Paul J. Bereswill (2))

There was perhaps nobody pitching better than Jeremy Hefner entering the All-Star break. Now, there may be nobody pitching worse.

Crashing down in his last two starts after a magnificent stretch, Hefner delivered his second straight debacle, getting hammered by the Braves in the Mets’ 8-2 loss last night at Citi Field.

“Obviously coming out of the break, he’s not the same guy that he was going in,” manager Terry Collins said.

After pitching well for eight starts, Hefner has completely reversed himself. He was blasted by the Phillies last Friday, shelled for eight runs on 10 hits and a homer in two innings. Against the Braves, Hefner was clocked for six runs (five earned) on three homers in just 4 1/3 innings.

In his eight-start span beginning on June 4 until his last outing, Hefner’s 1.76 ERA topped the majors. He’s clearly not that good, but Hefner has allowed 13 earned runs on 16 hits and four homers in his last two starts. He’s clearly not that bad, but these are dramatic extremes.

“Obviously it’s frustrating,” Hefner said. “To have my performance tonight is unacceptable.”

Hefner served up just one hit in his first four innings — Evan Gattis’ monster homer into the second deck in left — but in the fifth he fell apart. Both Dan Uggla (three-run homer) and Andrelton Simmons (two-run shot) went deep in the inning, and both shots were no-doubters.

“All of a sudden, he started leaving stuff up in the middle of the plate,” Collins said. “That’s a concern.”

The Mets don’t have an alternative to Hefner, at least not until Jon Niese returns from injury. Hefner began the season with a 7.07 ERA in his first four outings, but turned it around to pitch superbly.

Hefner said his location has been the issue the last two starts.

“It’s all stuff that can be fixed,” he said.

The Mets did little against Braves starter Tim Hudson, who suffocated them until he suffered a fractured ankle injury in the eighth inning when Eric Young Jr. stepped on him at first base. Before leaving, Hudson pitched 7 2/3 innings, his two runs surrendered by Luis Avilan on Daniel Murphy’s two-run double.

Hudson wasn’t the only one to have a painful night.

David Wright went 0-for-4, and on a fourth-inning double play he accidentally slammed his bat into his neck and head on his backswing. Wright did not run to first and hunched over just beyond home plate. Trainer Ray Ramirez came out to examine him, but Wright stayed in the game.

Wright said he was “just a little sore” after the game and was not tested for a concussion. The Mets have a 12:10 p.m. start today — a quick turnaround — and it would not be surprising if they rested their captain.

“We’ll see how I feel [today],” Wright said, “but I expect to play.”