NEW YORK -- History suggests it's too early for the New York Mets to fret over a slow start. The eye test suggests something else entirely.

The Atlanta Braves put the finishing touches on the undermanned Mets' worst homestand in more than five years on Thursday afternoon, when Kurt Suzuki's three-run homer capped a four-run outburst that lifted the Braves to a 7-5 win at Citi Field.

The Braves (8-12) never trailed in sweeping the two-game series from the Mets (8-13), who finished their longest homestand of the first half at 1-7 -- the franchise's worst homestand of seven games or more since September 2011.

The Mets have scored just 33 runs in their last 11 games, a stretch in which they are 1-10. They have not led since their last win, a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on April 20.

"It's hard to win a ballgame when you fall down 2-0, 1-0 (and) we feel like we've already lost," said Mets third baseman Jose Reyes, who went 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs to raise his average to .137.

"As a baseball player, when you have that attitude, that's bad. Hopefully we can change that."

Manager Terry Collins had change in mind when he held a brief post-game meeting in which he referenced the Mets' track record but also called for an urgent approach to snapping out of the funk.

The Mets earned a wild-card game berth last season despite losing seven Opening Day starters to the disabled list and being under .500 as late as Aug. 20. New York has five players on the disabled list already this season and may have lost two more on Thursday, when ace right-hander Noah Syndergaard was scratched due to biceps tendinitis and left fielder Yoenis Cespedes aggravated a left hamstring injury while legging out a double in the fourth.

Syndergaard is day-to-day but Cespedes, who needed help getting off the field, is almost certainly going to be placed on the disabled list.

"As I just told the players: Last year, we lost David Wright, he's out again this year," Collins said before his voice began rising with each sentence. "We lost 'Cabby' (Asdrubal Cabrera). We lost 'Walk' (Neil Walker). We lost (Lucas) Duda. We lost 'Ces.' We lost (Matt) Harvey. We lost (Jacob) deGrom. We lost (Steven) Matz. OK? We still made it through. We can do that again. But it's got to start now, OK?"

That may be easier said than done. After Thursday's game, the Mets headed to Washington D.C. to take on the red-hot Washington Nationals, who have won 10 of 11 and are starting Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg on Friday and Saturday.

"You never like to lose (seven) of (eight) on a homestand and be where you're at, especially with how teams in our division are playing," Walker said. "We've got to just pick it up a little bit as a group and keep staying confident, staying positive and keep pulling for each other and we know we'll come out of this on the right end."

The Braves are hoping they've begun turning around their season -- and their offense -- with the two wins over the Mets. Atlanta scored 15 runs against New York after scoring just 15 runs during the six-game losing streak that preceded the trip to the Big Apple.

"Maybe, hopefully, the worm is turning in our direction where we can continue to pick those runs up," Braves manager Brian Snitker said.

The Braves went ahead 2-0 in the second when Jace Peterson had an RBI single and winning pitcher R.A. Dickey (2-2) delivered a run-scoring groundout. Walker helped the Mets briefly tie the game in the fourth, when he delivered an RBI double and scored on a passed ball.

But the Braves went ahead for good two pitches into the fifth, when Adonis Garcia singled and scored on Freddie Freeman's double. Suzuki chased right-hander Matt Harvey (2-1) by homering three batters later.

"It gave me the latitude to go out there and feel like there wasn't intense pressure on every pitch, like there is in a tie-score situation," Dickey said of Suzuki's homer.

Reyes homered in the fifth. Nick Markakis lofted a sacrifice fly in the ninth before the Mets scored twice in the bottom of the inning on an RBI groundout by Travis d'Arnaud and Reyes' single.

Dickey, who was pitching at Citi Field for the first time since winning the National League Cy Young Award with the Mets in 2012, allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out three over five innings. He suffered a quad spasm while running the bases in the fourth but doesn't expect to miss his next start.

Harvey (2-1), who was scheduled to start Friday but moved up when Syndergaard was scratched, allowed six runs on five hits and five walks while striking out one over 4 1/3 innings.

NOTES: The Braves purchased the contract of RHP Jason Motte from Triple-A Gwinnett and optioned C Anthony Recker to the same affiliate. ... Mets OF Brandon Nimmo (right hamstring) began a rehab assignment at Class A St. Lucie on Wednesday. ... Braves 2B Brandon Phillips (left groin) sat out after being injured Wednesday night.