Braves hand Mets fifth straight loss with 8-2 win

NEW YORK — Julio Teheran stifled the Mets into the seventh inning, Robert Gsellman staggered through a fiverun first and the Atlanta Braves handed New York its fifth straight loss, 8-2 on Wednesday night.

Atlanta ended a sixgame skid behind 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball from Teheran (2-1). The right-hander allowed four hits, four walks and a pair of sacrifice flies while striking out four. He is 4-0 with a 0.91 ERA in his last seven starts against New York dating to June 21, 2015.

The ailing Mets got Yoenis Cespedes and Travis d’Arnaud back in the lineup but still dropped their ninth in 10 games.

Gsellman (0-2) allowed his first seven batters to reach in an exasperating first inning, including one on his own throwing error. The 23-year-old rookie allowed six runs, 10 hits and three walks over four-plus innings. His ERA climbed to 6.23 one start after he pitched effectively into the eighth inning against Philadelphia.

Tyler Flowers had a three-run double in the first and matched his career high with four RBIs.

Gsellman was announced as New York’s starter a few hours before the first pitch after having his scheduled start Tuesday rained out. The Mets initially indicated they would skip Gsellman’s turn and pitch Noah Syndergaard on Wednesday, but manager Terry Collins opted to push his rotation back. When asked why, Collins said “because I wanted to” and insisted he never said Gsellman would be skipped, though even the Mets’ official Twitter account was promoting Syndergaard as Wednesday’s starter.

Gsellman began the game with four hits allowed, two walks and his own throwing error. Matt Kemp and Nick Markakis had RBI singles, the latter when Freddie Freeman scored on an overturned call at the plate following Cespedes’ throw from left field.

Fans booed when Gsellman’s throw pulled first baseman Jay Bruce off the bag on Adonis Garcia’s swinging bunt, and they jeered again when Flowers doubled down the right-field line to make it 5-0.

Flowers chased Gsellman with an RBI single in the fifth.

New York’s Neil Walker hit a sacrifice fly to the warning track with the bases loaded in the fourth inning.

Markakis had three hits, and all eight starting position players for Atlanta had at least one.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS New York Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud tries to tag Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman, left, during the first inning of Wednesday’s game in New York. Home plate umpire Cory Blaser is at right. Freeman was originally called out, but he was ruled safe after a...