Flushing, NY (Sports Network) - Jon Niese tossed eight strong innings and
chipped in with two RBI as the New York Mets pounded the Philadelphia
Phillies, 11-1, in the opener of a three-game series at Citi Field.
Niese (7-3) surrendered just one run on three hits and two walks to win his
third straight start.
David Wright added a three-run home run and four RBI while Daniel Murphy also
knocked in four runs for the Mets, who won for the fifth time in six games.
Vance Worley (4-5) was touched for six runs on 10 hits and a walk over just
four innings to take the loss for Philadelphia, which dropped its sixth
straight contest.
The Phillies fell to 10 games under .500 (36-46) for the first time since July
22, 2002.
The Mets opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when Murphy hit
a one-out triple just out of the reach of a sliding John Mayberry in left
field and came home on Wright's grounder to third.
Philadelphia answered with Carlos Ruiz's leadoff home run to left field in the
second inning, but New York quickly regained the lead in the bottom of the
frame after loading the bases on a walk by Lucas Duda and back-to-back singles
by Andres Torres and Josh Thole.
Niese then slapped a base hit up the middle to plate Duda and Torres. Thole
was thrown out trying to take third on the play and following Ruben Tejada's
single, Murphy ripped a double into left-center field to score Niese. Tejada
also tried to score on the hit, but Jimmy Rollins' relay throw beat Tejada to
the plate and he was tagged out by Ruiz to end the inning and keep it a 4-1
game.
New York added to its lead in the fourth inning when Thole singled, advanced
to second on a Niese sacrifice bunt and scored on Tejada's base hit to center
field. Tejada moved up to second base on Shane Victorino's throw to the plate
and quickly came home on Murphy's single to left field to give the Mets a 6-1
cushion.
Niese walked and Tejada singled prior to Wright's blast to straightaway center
field in the sixth inning to pull the Mets even further away.
The Phillies, meanwhile, did not advance a runner past first base following
Ruiz's home run until Hunter Pence singled and moved up a base on a wild pitch
in the seventh inning.
But Pence would be stranded there and Murphy's two-run double in the eighth
inning accounted for the final margin as Jon Rauch tossed a scoreless ninth to
close out the game.
GAME NOTES:
Wright's home run moved him past Howard Johnson for sole possession of third
place on the Mets' all-time list with 193...Wright also became the first
player in Mets history to hit 10 or more home runs in nine separate
seasons...New York improved to 24-17 at home this season, while Philadelphia
fell to 19-22 on the road...The Mets hit 7-for-12 with runners in scoring
position.
The Sports Network