In each of the last four seasons, the NL East has belonged to the Braves. 

On Monday, they served the Mets a reminder that they aren’t going anywhere, even if they have started out slowly in their World Series title defense. 

Ex-Met Travis d’Arnaud haunted his old team, going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs to power the Braves to a 5-2 win over the Mets at Citi Field. 

The Mets (16-8) mustered only five hits as they were mostly held in check by Braves left-hander Max Fried. 

It was still a 3-2 game in the bottom of the seventh inning when the Mets loaded the bases with two outs against the Braves bullpen without putting a ball in play. Braves reliever Tyler Matzek walked Jeff McNeil, bounced a pitch to James McCann that hit him on his lifted back leg and then walked Brandon Nimmo to load the bases. 

But Collin McHugh relieved Matzek and struck out Mark Canha to escape the jam. 

In the next half inning, d’Arnaud provided the Braves (11-13) some more breathing room when he roped a two-run double to left field off Trevor May. 

Since the Mets designated d’Arnaud for assignment a month into the 2019 season — after he missed most of 2018 to undergo Tommy John surgery — d’Arnaud has feasted on them. Including Monday’s effort, he is hitting .469 (15-for-32) with seven extra-base hits and 14 RBIs in nine games against the Mets. 

Two of d’Arnaud’s hits Monday came against Chris Bassitt, who delivered seven solid innings while giving up three runs. 

The Braves took the lead off Bassitt in the sixth inning, mostly on soft contact and well-placed hits. After Ozzie Albies hit a one-out single through the open left side of the infield to put runners on first and second, d’Arnaud lofted an RBI double just past first base that tied the game. 

Adam Duvall then hit a sacrifice fly to score Albies and put the Braves ahead 3-2. 

Starling Marte had given the Mets the lead first in the second inning. After legging out a one-out double, he tagged up and went to third base on McNeil’s flyout to center field. Marte then raced home on Fried’s wild pitch that bounced past d’Arnaud, putting the Mets up 1-0. 

Canha made it 2-0 in the third inning when he crushed his first home run as a Met, a solo shot. 

Austin Riley got that run back in the top of the fourth when he clobbered a solo homer to left. 

Bassitt had to bear down in the fifth inning after thinking he had a 1-2-3 frame — only for his two-out, 2-2 pitch to Dansby Swanson to be called a ball. Thinking he had strike three — and he appeared to have a strong case for it — Bassitt began striding off the mound until he found out otherwise. He went on to walk Swanson, then hit Ronald Acuña Jr. with a pitch. 

But Bassitt settled down to get Matt Olson to pop out to end the threat. 

As Bassitt walked off the mound, home plate umpire Chad Fairchild appeared to motion to the Mets pitcher that the missed call was his mistake. 

Nimmo robbed Acuña of extra bases to end the seventh inning, racing back to the warning track to make a leaping catch at the wall.