Rod Barajas homered twice, Jonathon Niese pitched seven impressive innings and the surging New York Mets routed the Philadelphia Phillies 9-1 on Friday night for their eighth straight victory.

David Wright and Jeff Francoeur also homered for the Mets, riding their longest winning streak since a 10-game run in July 2008.

Coming off a 9-1 homestand that produced a surprise lead in the NL East, New York dominated its first meeting this season with the rival Phillies, the two-time defending National League champs.

Brad Lidge was hit hard in his first outing of the year and the Phillies fell to 3-4 at home.