Noah Syndergaard struck out seven in his first opening day start for New York, the only blemish a blister on the top of his right middle finger that ended his outing after six sharp innings.
Atlanta starter Julio Teheran throttled the Mets as usual, throwing six scoreless innings before a sellout crowd of 44,384 at Citi Field. But once he was lifted after 96 pitches, New York took advantage of five walks by a shaky Braves bullpen in a six-run bottom of the seventh that lasted 35 minutes.
The Mets stopped a six-game home losing streak to Atlanta - the last-place Braves swept their final two series in Queens last year - and improved baseball's best record on opening day to 36-20.