ATLANTA — Hank Aaron’s 715th-home-run anniversary celebration wouldn’t have been complete without a Babe Ruth appearance Tuesday night.
Bartolo Colon, belly hanging over his belt, looked the part at least.
The Mets received a jumbo performance from the veteran right-hander and ruined the Braves’ home opener with a 4-0 victory in front of 47,144 at Turner Field.
Before the game, the Braves honored Aaron on the 40th anniversary of the home run that pushed him ahead of Ruth on baseball’s all-time list. But the party ended there for the Braves.
Colon kept the Braves swinging early in the count and finished with seven shutout innings in which he allowed six hits and no walks.
“I felt great, and especially when you face a team as tough as Atlanta you prepare to be very tough mentally,” Colon said. “That’s how I felt today. I prepared very well for this game.”
Kyle Farnsworth and Jose Valverde each added a scoreless inning, securing the Mets’ third victory in their last four games. But Valverde provided some drama by loading the bases in the ninth before retiring Jason Heyward on a deep fly to center that ended the game.
Ahead 1-0 in the seventh, the Mets received an RBI single from Ruben Tejada against Gus Schlosser before Eric Young Jr. singled in another run.
In the eighth, manager Terry Collins won his second straight replay review to begin the season. Juan Lagares was called out at first base by umpire Mark Ripperger on a slow grounder, but the decision was overturned after Collins challenged. Tejada’s two-out bloop RBI single gave the Mets a 4-0 lead.
Collins was certainly grateful for the production from the bottom of his lineup, as his big guns continue to struggle.
“We’ve got to swing the bats better,” Collins said. “If you ever told me David Wright would be hitting [.192] at the beginning of the year I would have laughed because I’ve never seen him not hit over .300 for at least three-quarters of the season if not the whole season. We’ve got to get it going.”
Travis d’Arnaud singled with two outs in the fourth, snapping a hitless streak that had reached 16 at-bats to begin the season. D’Arnaud finished the night 2-for-4 and is batting .105.
“It felt good to see that first hit go through,” d’Arnaud said. “It was relieving.”
It was d’Arnaud’s leadoff double in the seventh against Schlosser that led to the Mets’ second run. Tejada then delivered an RBI single, giving Colon a two-run cushion.
Tejada raced home from third base with the game’s first run on a wild pitch by Aaron Harang in the third. Tejada and Young walked in the inning to get the rally started.
Harang, who finished last season with the Mets and was cut by the Indians in spring training, allowed one run on two hits and four walks with nine strikeouts over six innings for the Braves. The veteran right-hander struck out the side in the fifth and had a streak of five straight strikeouts end in the sixth, when Curtis Granderson walked.
Colon was even better for the Mets, pounding the strike zone and keeping the Braves off balance. The right-hander was less effective in his Mets debut, allowing three earned runs on nine hits over six innings in a loss to the Nationals last Wednesday.
“He commands all his pitches and what else can you ask for from a pitcher?” d’Arnaud said.
For Colon, it was a matter of challenging a team that likes to swing early in the count.
“It also works both ways because they actually know that I throw a lot of strikes,” Colon said. “So they swing a lot and that actually helps my game.”