Aug 24, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores (4) high fives third baseman David Wright (5) after hitting a two RBI home run during the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. (Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports)
PHILADELPHIA — Second baseman Wilmer Flores hit two of the Mets’ franchise-record eight homers and drove in five runs Monday night, lifting New York to a 16-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Third baseman David Wright homered in his first at-bat since April 14 for the Mets, who had a season-high run total and set another club record with 14 extra-base hits. They also scored 14 runs or more for the third time in four games.
Wright, absent the previous 115 games due to hamstring and back injuries, went 2-for-5 but committed two errors.
The teams combined to equal the National League record of 11 homers in a game. It was the fifth time that occurred, and the first time since May 17, 1979, when the Chicago Cubs hit six and the Phillies had five in a game Philadelphia won 23-22 in 10 innings.
Flores, catcher Travis D’Arnaud, first baseman Daniel Murphy and right fielder Michael Cuddyer all had three hits, with d’Arnaud contributing a solo homer and a two-run double and Cuddyer and Murphy each hitting homers. Center fielder Juan Lagares and left fielder Yoenis Cespedes also homered for New York, which trailed 7-2 after three innings.
The Mets, who won their fourth straight, increased their lead in the National League East to 5 1/2 games over the idle Washington Nationals. They also won for the ninth time in 10 meetings with the Phillies this season.
First baseman Ryan Howard and right fielder Domonic Brown hit three-run homers, and catcher Cameron Rupp had a solo blast for Philadelphia, which saw its three-game winning streak end.
Flores’ second homer, a three-run blast off Philadelphia reliever Hector Neris (2-1) in a four-run fifth inning, gave the Mets the lead for good, 8-7. It was the second multi-homer game of Flores’ career, and it increased his season total to 14.
Sean Gilmartin (3-1) earned the victory by pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of an ineffective Jacob deGrom.
Howard’s homer off deGrom came with one out in the first. It followed a walk to second baseman Cesar Hernandez and a single by shortstop Freddy Galvis, and came.
Wright made it 3-1 when he led off the second with a homer off Philadelphia starter Adam Morgan, but Philadelphia catcher Cameron Rupp led off the bottom of that inning with a home run.
New York center fielder Juan Lagares cut the Phillies’ lead to 4-2 with a solo homer in the third, only to see Phillies right fielder Domonic Brown answer with a three-run shot in the bottom of the inning.
Flores and catcher Travis d’Arnaud hit back-to-back homers in the fourth, with Flores’ blast a two-run shot, bringing the Mets within 7-5.
New York took a 9-7 lead by scoring four times in the fifth, as Flores hit a three-run homer and right fielder Michael Cuddyer launched a solo shot.
Murphy had a two-run homer and d’Arnaud added a two-run double in the sixth. Lagares’ RBI single in the seventh gave New York a 14-7 lead.
Cespedes’ two-run homer in the ninth made it 16-7.
DeGrom allowed a career-high seven runs (six earned) and eight hits in just 2 2/3 innings, the shortest outing of his career. He walked three, struck out three and allowed three homers, the third time he allowed that many in his career.
Morgan went 3 2/3 innings and gave up five runs and seven hits, four of them home runs. Morgan, who struck out three without issuing a walk, yielded nine homers over his previous 10 starts this year, and no more than two in a single outing.
NOTES: Mets 3B David Wright said before the game it almost felt like Opening Day to him, “where you have some butterflies or you have some nervous excitement.” He also said that while he was initially hesitant to test his back during his eight-game rehab assignment at Class A St. Lucie. … Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said he was optimistic that 3B Maikel Franco, on the disabled list since Aug. 12 with a fractured bone in his left wrist, might be able to return before the end of the season. “If he’s 100 percent, I’d like his bat back in the lineup,” Mackanin said. … Phillies OF Jeff Francoeur was pulled off revocable waivers when another team made a claim, according to ESPN.com. That means Francoeur cannot be traded before the Aug. 31 deadline.
