Taijuan Walker tossed five scoreless innings in his return from the injured list and the New York Mets rode their biggest inning of the season to their most lopsided victory as they cruised to a 13-2 win over the visiting Atlanta Braves.

The Mets have won four straight while the Braves have lost their last two following a four-game winning streak.

The 11-run win was the Mets' most lopsided over the Braves since a 16-5 victory on May 3, 2017.

Walker (4-1), who missed the previous 11 days with a sore left side, allowed two hits and one walk while tying a season-high with eight strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to 1.84, the second-lowest ever by a Mets pitcher in his first nine starts for the club. Al Leiter posted a 1.49 ERA in 1998.

James McCann homered in the first, Dominic Smith had an RBI single in the third and Jonathan Villar (homer) and Tomas Nido (RBI fielder's choice) helped extend the lead to 4-0 in the fifth before the Mets piled on following Walker's departure.

A seven-run sixth inning was fueled by several unexpected contributors, including center fielder Cameron Maybin, whose one-out infield single was his first hit in 28 at-bats for New York -- the longest hitless streak to begin a tenure in franchise history.

Pinch-hitter Brandon Drury, who joined the Mets May 21, followed with a two-run homer. McCann, who began playing first base this week for the first time as a professional, had an RBI single. Nido, who has supplanted McCann as the starting catcher, delivered a two-out RBI single before Billy McKinney, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, hit a three-run homer.

Francisco Lindor, who signed a 10-year extension with the Mets March 31 but is batting just .191 in his first season in New York, hit a two-run homer in the seventh -- his first homer at home since May 7.

The five homers were also a season high for the Mets.

McCann finished 4-for-5 to lift his average from .197 to .221.

Freddie Freeman drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth and Ozzie Albies had an RBI single in the eighth for the Braves.

Starter Ian Anderson (4-2) gave up four runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out six over four innings.

--Field Level Media