The New York Mets snapped their six-game losing streak Friday night, scoring early and often in a 7-3 victory in Milwaukee. Jonathan Niese pitched six strong innings, and the Mets got home runs from David Murphy and Lucas Duda in the victory.
The Mets got out to a big lead early off Brewers starter Mike Fiers with two runs in each of the first two innings. A pair of doubles by David Wright and Duda plated two runs in the first, and the big start was capped off by Murphy's two-run big fly into the second deck at Miller Park.
The Brewers came back with two in the bottom of the second frame, and the Mets were fortunate that it wasn't more. With runners on first and second, Milwaukee first baseman Travis Ishikawa hit a drive to deep left, but the ball bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double, allowing only one run to score. That runner was subsequently thrown out at the plate on a grounder to the pitcher. Fiers then helped himself with an RBI single, but the rally was stymied with another play at the plate that went New York's way. That was all the Brewers would score off Niese, who scattered six hits and five strikeouts in his six innings of work.
The Mets would finish off the scoring in the sixth off Manny Parra as Duda led off the inning with a homer. Andres Torres reached first on a throwing error, and he scored on a double by Josh Thule. After Niese singled, Ruben Tejada hit into an apparent double play, but Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks threw the ball away, allowing Thule to score from third, pushing the lead to 7-2.
Milwaukee would try to make things interesting in the ninth, with outfielder Jean Segura working a one-out walk off Ramon Ramirez, followed by a Nyjer Morgan triple, but Ramirez rebounded to strike out Norichika Aoki and got Rickie Weeks to pop out to the catcher to finish off the victory.
The teams go at it again tomorrow night in Milwaukee, with Jenrry Mejia making his first start of the year for New York countered by veteran Shaun Marcum for the Brewers.
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