Mets 15 – Diamondbacks 2
PHOENIX – The Mets’ bats could not be stopped.
Even in the eighth inning yesterday, up 11 runs, the Mets added two more. They scored a season-high 15 runs on 15 hits and 10 walks to finish the four-game sweep of the Diamondbacks with a 15-2 romp. Ten different players either scored a run or drove in a run. It was a complete offensive thumping.
Carlos Beltran drove in four runs, Carlos Delgado plated three and Chris Woodward, Lastings Milledge and newest Met Eli Marrero (who came in for Beltran in the sixth and hit a two-run double in the eighth) drove in a pair apiece. Delgado had three hits; Beltran, Woodward and Endy Chavez each had two. Jose Reyes drew three walks, scored two runs and stole two bases.
The Mets scored three runs in the first inning, four in the fourth and six in the fifth, taking a 13-0 lead. They gave up a run each in the fifth and sixth – maybe just to allow the Diamondbacks to improve their self-respect.
Meanwhile, Pedro Martinez – who also singled and scored a run – captured his first win since April 28, improving his record to 6-2. The Mets’ team record is more impressive than that: they are 39-23, still the best mark in the National League, and have a 6 1/2-game lead on the second-place Phillies in the East. They’re also 6-1 on their current 10-game road trip and have won five straight.
If the Mets’ recent form holds, when they resume play tomorrow in Philadelphia, there’s a decent chance they’ll be winning after the first three outs. They scored in the first inning yesterday for the fifth straight game, banging out three runs off Diamondbacks starter Russ Ortiz (0-5).
Reyes led off the game by walking and stealing second; Chavez laid down a bunt single that sent Reyes to third. Beltran drove Reyes in and also reached on an error when Orlando Hudson mishandled his grounder to deep second.
Beltran and Chavez scored when Woodward grounded a two-run double down the right-field line. That put the Mets up, 3-0.
Two innings later, Reyes again started it with a walk and a stolen base, and Chavez followed with a walk. Beltran then absolutely ripped a two-run double to right-center, and Delgado and David Wright followed with RBI doubles to put the Mets up 7-0.
Six more runs came home in the fifth. Martinez led off with a single and one out later, Chavez doubled him to third. Beltran’s broken-bat RBI single brought home a run, and Delgado’s two-run double made it 10-0. An RBI single from Ramon Castro and a two-run standup triple by Milledge bumped the lead to 13-0.
Martinez tossed only five innings, not needing to go further. He pitched fine, shutting out the Diamondbacks for the first four frames before Johnny Estrada’s solo homer in the fifth. Martinez, though, needed 91 pitches in his five innings and nearly gave up a run in the first.
With Craig Counsell on third and Luis Gonzalez on first and one down, Chad Tracy hit a fly to right. Chavez caught it and uncorked a bullet one-bounce throw home to nail Counsell, then got congratulations from half his teammates as he returned to the dugout.
Before the game, Willie Randolph called it a “beautiful Arizona day,” adding, “Be nice to get the broom out, go back East.”
The sweeping is finished; the Phillies are up next.
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First things first
The Mets have made a habit of getting out to fast starts so far on their 10-game road trip, against the Dodgers and Diamondbacks. In winning six of the first seven games, the Amazin’s have scored 18 first-inning runs. Here’s a game-by-game breakdown of the Mets’ first innings:
DAY — OPP — RUNS — RESULT
Monday — LA — 3 — W, 4-1
Tuesday — LA — 0 — L, 8-5
Wednesday — LA — 4 — W, 9-7
Thursday — ARI — 1 — W, 7-1
Friday — ARI — 4 — W, 10-6
Saturday — ARI — 3 — W, 5-0
Yesterday — ARI — 3 — W, 15-2
