ATLANTA _ From the moment he walked off the mound in the first inning Wednesday night, looking intently at his fingertips as if inspecting a blister, Jacob deGrom rarely looked comfortable against the Braves.
In this way, the Mets right-hander fit right into a starting rotation that has faltered despite all the hype. But these are bizarro days for the Mets, who rode an offense missing Yoenis Cespedes to a 16-5 triumph over the Braves, and totaled 20 hits.
Through much of his five-inning slog, deGrom permitted a parade of baserunners in what was easily his worst start of the season. He failed to command his slider, part of the reason he allowed a season-high five runs and tied a season high by giving up eight hits.
For the second time in three starts, deGrom walked five batters. His ERA rose from 2.84 to 3.68. Yet, he departed in line for the victory, his team ahead 9-5 after tagging former teammate Bartolo Colon for five runs in four innings.
Curtis Granderson provided the most important glimmer of hope for the Mets (12-15), ripping a pair of doubles, scoring three times and driving in a run to show signs of breaking out of his horrendous slump.
Granderson began the day as the worst hitter in all of baseball. His .122 average ranked last among all qualifiers by 31 points, his on-base percentage of .175 the lowest by 39 points. He was benched on Tuesday, which he spent taking extra batting practice.
On the Mets' road trip, Granderson had fallen to 0-for-16, including a pop-up in the second inning. But he laced a run-scoring double in the third, his first hit since April 27, then followed with another double in the fifth. The production came after he had fallen to 1-for-30 in his last nine games, spurring questions about whether his days as an everyday player might be nearing an end.
Jose Reyes tied a career high by knocking in five runs, including a three-run double as part of a seven-run eighth. Rene Rivera had three hits and three RBIs and T.J. Rivera and Michael Conforto also had three hits.
The Mets set a season high for runs in a game. The awakening was well-timed, helping to cover for a pair of baserunning blunders that short-circuited rallies.
Neil Walker lost count of the outs and got doubled off in the first. In the third, Reyes did not pay attention as he retreated to second base on a flyout to right. Shortstop Dansby Swanson noticed the lack of focus, tagging a stunned Reyes.
For one night, the offense covered for another lackluster outing by a member of the starting rotation.
The Mets' pitching staff began the day with a 4.73 ERA, just ahead of the Reds (4.79) for the worst in the National League. That the two would be comparable would have been stunning on Opening Day, when the Mets started Noah Syndergaard and the Reds trotted out big-league journeyman Scott Feldman.
Matt Harvey is in the midst of an awful three-start stretch, in which his velocity has improved but his results have worsened. Zack Wheeler is knocking off the rust from a two-year absence recovering form Tommy John surgery.
Robert Gsellman is scuffling with the two-seamer that made him a second-half savior last season and Noah Syndergaard is looking at a recovery period that could drag on for three months.
That leaves the Mets needing an ace, with deGrom as the default choice, even if he hardly looked like it Wednesday night.
