The last time Bartolo Colon pitched against Atlanta, most current Braves were in elementary school. That was 2002, when Colon was a 20-game winner with Cleveland and Montreal. Yes, Montreal.
Twelve years, a few injuries and at least one unconventional stem-cell medical procedure later, the chunky 40-year-old still has plenty in the tank, as the Braves found out Tuesday night when Colon and the Mets spoiled their home opener before an announced sellout of 47,144.
Colon limited the thus-far offensively challenged Braves to six hits in seven innings of a 4-0 Mets win at Turner Field, the fifth time in seven games that the Braves scored two runs or fewer and the second time they’ve been shut out.
Jason Heyward flied out to the center-field warning track with bases loaded to end the game and extend his 0-for-22 slump.
“I knew I just missed it,” said Heyward, who fouled off a full-count fastball from Jose Valverede before hitting a long, towering fly on another 93-mph fastball. “Good (at-bat). I want to be in that spot every time. I like to come through, but no matter how you draw it up it’s not always going to work out.”
The Braves lost their second in a row since a four-game winning streak, and for a moment it looked as if they might also have lost reliever Luis Avilan. The left-hander was diagnosed with a left-hamstring cramp after leaving the game in the seventh inning when he nearly collapsed trying to avoid a flying bat shard on a Daniel Murphy single.
Journeyman Aaron Harang had his second impressive performance in as many starts for the Braves, allowing two hits, one run and four walks with nine strikeouts in six innings. Harang (1-1) has allowed one earned run and four hits in 12 1/3 innings, but the Braves have scored one run in his two games combined.
“A second outing in a row which he gave us a great opportunity to win the game,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said of Harang, who took a no-hitter to the seventh inning of a 1-0 win at Milwaukee in his first start. “He gave up two hits, punched out nine, gave up one run — I don’t think you can ask for much more than that.”
Freddie Freeman hit a two-out double in the first inning, and the Braves didn’t get another runner past first base until the seventh, when they had two on after a two-out Andrelton Simmons single and an error. Johnson flied out to end the first inning, and Heyward grounded out to end the seventh.
The Braves are 1-for-23 with runners in scoring position and two outs for the season, and went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position in the ninth inning after getting singles by Justin Upton and Dan Uggla to start the inning. Evan Gattis grounded into a force at third, and Simmons reached on an error when Valverde threw wide to second on a fielder’s choic
With the bases loaded and one out, pinch-hitter Gerald Laird popped out to second, and Heyward flied out five feet in front of the center-field wall to end the game.
The Braves have 15 runs and a .263 team on-base percentage through seven games.
“As a team, as a whole, you’re seeing some spurts,” Gonzalez said. “There are some (encouraging) signs there.”
The Mets got a run against Harang on two walks and a wild pitch to David Wright in the third inning, the only run that Harang has allowed in two starts.
“I was trying to put him away on a 2-2 count,” Harang said. “I threw a slider in the dirt and took an awkward bounce and got away from him.”
The Mets scored two runs in the seventh charged to rookie reliever Gus Schlosser. Travis d’Arnaud led off the inning with a double that landed between outfielders Justin Upton and B.J. Upton — a hit that looked like it should’ve been caught by B.J. all the way.
“Well, it was up there a long time,” said Gonzalez, who stopped short of saying it should’ve been caught. “That ball was up there a long time.”
Ruben Tejada followed with an RBI single for a 2-0 lead. After a sacrifice bunt, Avilan replaced Schlosser and surrendered another RBI single by Eric Young. Murphy’s broken-bat single then ended Avilan’s night.
The Mets tacked on a run in the eighth with three hits against relievers Ian Thomas and Pedro Beato.
In his Braves debut Wednesday at Milwaukee, Harang didn’t allow a hit until the seventh inning and had to work with a runner on base once through the first six innings. He pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings in that win.
Against the Mets, he gave up a hit on the second pitch of the game, which Young lined up the middle for a single. Harang retired the next six batters before a third-inning leadoff walk by No. 8 hitter Ruben Tejada. Two batters later, Young walked, and the Mets had two on with one out.
Tejada advanced to third on a fly out to deep right, and Young stole second with David Wright batting before Harang bounced a wild pitch past catcher Gattis, allowing Tejada to score. The leadoff walk had come back to haunt him, which leadoff walks have a tendency of doing.
Harang walked the first batter in the next inning, too, but worked around that and a two-out single by d’Arnaud by striking out Tejada looking at a pitch at the bottom of the strike zone to end the inning with two runners on. That was the first of five consecutive strikeouts for Harang.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t get him any run support tonight,” Heyward said. “But he was outstanding.”
The Braves had three hits in the first three innings against Colon, but each hit came with two outs. In the third inning, slow-starting B.J. Upton drew boisterous applause when he hit a sharp single through the left side with two out. Freeman followed him and blistered a ball to the right side, but the liner went directly to first baseman Lucas Duda.
