Mets End Skid, Beat Brewers

The Mets scored a grand total of nine runs in losing all six games on their latest homestand. On the road against the suddenly surging Brewers, they nearly matched that total in one game Friday night.

They scored early and often. Daniel Murphy walked in the first and David Wright followed with a double off the left field wall. Ike Davis grounded out to first to score Murphy and Lucas Duda hit a ground rule double to right to plate Wright and give the Mets a 2-0 lead.

Jonathon Niese led off the second with a single and Murphy homered to right to make it a 4-0 game.

However the Brewers cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning. Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez each singled. Travis Ishikawa hit a ground rule double to score Lucroy and move Gomez to third. Gomez strayed too far off third on a Jean Segura grounder back to Niese. He was tagged out in a rundown that resulted in the runners advancing to second and third with one out. Opposing pitcher Mike Fiers hit a single to make it 4-2. Wright then made a really nice play on a grounder to get Segura at the plate. Niese got a strikeout to end the inning.

Lucas Duda made it 5-2 leading off the sixth with a solo shot to right-center. It was Duda’s 14th home run on the season. With one out Andres Torres reached on a error. He would score when Josh Thole doubled to left, making it 6-2. Niese got an infield single to put runners on first and second. Ruben Tejada hit what should have been an inning-ending double play but the relay throw to first was in the dirt, getting by the first baseman and allowing Thole to score the seventh run.

Niese lasted six innings, winning his 11th game of the year.

The Mets had excellent defense all game. Wright made several nice plays and Tejada dove for a grounder and started an incredible double play with two runners on in the eighth and no outs, just as it looked like the Brewers were about to mount a comeback.

Mets win 7-3, breaking their six game losing streak.