Two months away from the Mets didn’t leave a trace of rust on Dillon Gee.
His strained right lat muscle finally healed, Gee returned Wednesday and was the same dependable force on which the Mets have relied over the last two seasons.
“I was super-anxious before the game,” Gee said after the Mets’ 4-1 victory over the Braves. “I felt like I was making my debut all over again.”
Gee (4-1) surrendered one run, six hits and struck out four with one walk over seven-plus innings, in his first appearance for the Mets since May 10. He was removed after 85 pitches and watched Vic Black and Jenrry Mejia each pitch a scoreless inning to seal the victory.
The Mets won their fourth straight — their longest winning streak this season — and can complete a four-game sweep of the Braves when Bartolo Colon faces Aaron Harang on Thursday.
In Gee, the Mets (42-49) have one more weapon as they attempt to climb back in the NL East race. Gee improved to 5-4 against the Braves with a 2.80 ERA in 13 career starts against them.
“It’s the Dillon Gee we’ve known and loved,” manager Terry Collins said. “Those guys in the Braves uniforms walk out there and he just locates like crazy.”
Travis d’Arnaud’s two-run homer off Ervin Santana in the seventh gave the Mets a 4-1 lead and provided Gee with his first breathing room of the night. The blast was d’Arnaud’s sixth of the season and extended his streak of games reaching base to 13 since returning from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 24.
David Wright’s leadoff double in the inning led to the Mets taking a 2-1 lead on Kirk Nieuwenhuis’ sacrifice fly. Wright hit a shot to left field, and when Justin Upton hesitated throwing the ball to the infield, broke for second base.
Santana (7-6) allowed four earned runs on six hits and two walks over seven innings. The veteran right-hander entered 3-0 lifetime against the Mets with a 0.86 ERA.
Wright’s fielding error on Andrelton Simmons’ grounder in the seventh and Justin Upton’s broken-bat single later in the inning provided a threat to the Mets, but Gee struck out Jason Heyward and retired Chris Johnson to keep the game at 1-1.
“They were super aggressive and I was fortunate they were hitting them at people for the most part,” Gee said.
The strong performance by Gee after such a long layoff didn’t surprise the Mets.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” d’Arnaud said. “He’s a great competitor, he has his routine set and he knows how to pitch.”
B.J. Upton’s RBI double in the sixth tied it at 1-1, after the pitcher Santana had delivered a two-out single. Upton got caught between second and third on his double and was tagged out, but not before Santana had scored the tying run.
Lucas Duda’s RBI single in the first gave the Mets a fast lead. Daniel Murphy doubled, before Duda, with two outs, picked up where he left off the previous night, when he reached base five times.
B.J. Upton walked leading off the game and was ruled safe in an attempted steal of second, but the Mets challenged and had the call overturned by instant replay.
The victory was the Mets’ 11th in their last 16 games at Citi Field, stifling all discussion about a home-field disadvantage.
“Winning is as contagious as losing,” Collins said. “When you start winning, everybody it seems like they contribute. It’s a different atmosphere in the clubhouse, different on the field, preparation.
“But we’re just trying to climb back in here. Our guys have a great frame of mind — they are not getting too keyed up over anything. They know we have four more games to play on this homestand before we get to the All-Star break and we have to worry about the Braves [Thursday].”