Wright, Duda Power Surging Mets Past Marlins 7-1
NEW YORK (AP) — David Wright went 4 for 4 with a mammoth homer, Lucas Duda also hit a long two-run shot and the New York Mets rocked recent nemesis Henderson Alvarez in a 7-1 victory over the Miami Marlins on Friday night.
Zack Wheeler shut down Miami again and Juan Lagares had three hits as the Mets improved to 6-2 on a 10-game homestand that takes them into the All-Star break.
Wheeler (5-8) pitched 6 2-3 strong innings and helped himself with an RBI double. He moved to 2-0 with a 1.05 ERA in five career starts against the Marlins, including a three-hitter in a 1-0 win June 19 that was his first major league complete game.
Alvarez (6-4) had been on quite a roll, allowing two runs or fewer in each of his last nine games. He was 4-0 with a 1.04 ERA during that stretch, and the Marlins had won his last 10 outings — a club record for one of their pitchers.
He was particularly tough on the Mets, too, going 4-0 with a 1.01 ERA in his past five starts against them. But this time, he was tagged for six runs and eight hits in five ineffective innings.
The 24-year-old right-hander entered with a 2.27 ERA, fifth in the NL, but was left off the All-Star team Sunday.
Lagares got the Mets started with a two-out double in the second and Ruben Tejada hit an RBI single, ending Alvarez's scoreless streak against New York at 20 innings. Wheeler then short-hopped the left-field fence between the 358 and 370 signs for his second extra-base hit and fourth RBI in 58 career at-bats.
Wheeler came in batting .037 this season (1 for 27), and Mets pitchers were at a paltry .077 with 13 hits in 168 at-bats.
Curtis Granderson flied out to the center-field fence to end the inning.
Duda had no such trouble with the dimensions in the third, sending a shot soaring into the second deck in right for his 14th home run. Giancarlo Stanton never moved his feet in right field, arching his back to stare straight up as the ball sailed way over his head.
Wright did Duda one better in the fifth, driving an 0-2 pitch from Alvarez into the rarely reached second deck in left for his eighth home run.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit a leadoff triple in the sixth and scored when Lagares grounded a single through the drawn-in infield.
Christian Yelich had an RBI single for Miami in the fifth.
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