Flushing, NY (Sports Network) – Jonathon Niese pitched seven solid innings and the Mets knocked Cole Hamels out in the fifth, as New York crushed the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-2, in the second meeting of a three-game series.
Niese (9-7) gave up two runs — one earned — on six hits and was backed by an offense that thrived facing its fifth All-Star in six games.
Scott Hairston doubled twice, homered and drove in a career-high five runs, while Daniel Murphy also went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI to lead the surge and snap the Mets’ three-game slide.
Hamels (11-5) lasted just 4 1/3 innings and gave up a career-high tying seven runs. The left-hander walked four and allowed eight hits in the setback.
“You have to make pitches, and I wasn’t able to make pitches,” Hamels said. “It just kind of happens sometimes. When you don’t hit your spots, you’re going to get hit hard. Sometimes you can get away with it, but I didn’t get away with it today.”
Philadelphia, which had won three of four coming in, scored 14 runs in each of Hamels’ previous two outings, but it was the Mets who broke out their big bats on Saturday.
Hairston, filling in for an ill Carlos Beltran, played a part in the first three runs, initially with his hustle, then with his two-run double in the third.
With Hairston on second base and two outs in the first inning, Murphy hit a routine pop-up to the right side of the infield. Ryan Howard appeared to call off Chase Utley as the two converged on the ball, but neither settled under it. Hairston never stopped running and scored without a play at the plate as the ball landed between the first and second baseman.
“We have to capitalize on mistakes if they make them. They’re a very tough team,” Hairston said.
Angel Pagan’s sacrifice fly in the fourth made it 4-0, and Hamels was chased an inning later.
Murphy led off the fifth with his sixth homer of the season, and Nick Evans tripled home Jason Bay three batters later to end Hamels’ day. Ruben Tejada greeted David Herndon with an RBI single up the middle for a 7-0 cushion.
The Phillies got going with three straight singles to open the seventh. Tejada’s error on a ball hit by pinch-hitter Michael Martinez allowed Raul Ibanez to score, though Niese limited the damage by getting Jimmy Rollins to bounce into a run-scoring double play.
New York put the game away with four runs off Danys Baez in the bottom half, as Hairston followed Justin Turner’s RBI single with a three-run blast, a rare second-deck shot into the seats in left field.