The Mets (11-14) defeated the Atlanta Braves (10-14) by a score of 7-5 tonight at SunTrust Park and in the process leapfrogged them in the standings to begin working their way out of the cellar.

Pitching:

After the Mets received the gut punch that ace Noah Syndergaard would miss significant time with a torn right lat muscle, they were in need of something to get them going and to trudge on forward.

While starter Robert Gsellman didn’t have his best stuff, allowing five runs over five innings, the Mets offense was able to bail Gsellman out.

Gsellman would receive the win and improved to 1-2 on the young season.

Josh Edgin and Hansel Robles combined to get the Mets through the sixth and Jerry Blevins and Addison Reed handled the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, to keep Atlanta off the board and the Mets out in front.

Jeurys Familia came on for the ninth inning and closed out the ballgame for the Mets, rolling a double play to finish off the contest.

Offense:

Michael Conforto. Wow. It’s amazing to think where we would be without that little beam of light.

The young outfielder had yet another outstanding night out of the lead off spot for the Amazin’s, clubbing his seventh homer of the year to begin the game as well as driving in another in the fourth.

Conforto finished his evening going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and an intentional walk. His batting average now sits at a robust .333.

In that fourth inning, the Mets put up a five spot with contributions from Neil Walker, Jose Reyes and T.J. Rivera who each chipped in a run in addition to Conforto.

Reyes, whose batting average is creeping back up towards the Mendoza line, hit a solo home run in the eighth inning to make it a then 7-5 contest and gave the Mets some breathing room.

Should the Mets combat these hard times and stay afloat, Reyes is going to be an important piece of the puzzle and it looks like he might be on to putting his game together.

Without the big guy, Yoenis Cespedes, the Mets will need contributions from all parts of the team and will need to gut out these wins against our division rivals.

Tonight was a positive step and the Mets will look to seal the series victory tomorrow.

On deck:

Matt Harvey (2-1, 4.25 ERA) will take on former Met R.A. Dickey (2-2, 3.80 ERA) tomorrow night, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:35 p.m.