NEW YORK (AP) – Bartolo Colon and the New York Mets are beginning to play much better. Now they need to start gaining some ground in the standings.
Wilmer Flores launched a grand slam, Asdrubal Cabrera homered from both sides of the plate and even Colon had two helpful hits while pitching the third-place Mets to a 9-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.
Jose Reyes and Cabrera opened the Mets’ half of the first inning with consecutive home runs, just the second time the franchise has accomplished that feat. But the defending NL champions (65-63) remained 3 1/2 games behind St. Louis in a crowded race for the league’s second wild card.
“We’ve still got things we’ve got to make sure we address and stay on top of,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “It’s not all a cakewalk from here on out.”
The 43-year-old Colon (12-7) carried a two-hitter into the eighth and took over the team lead in wins as New York began a pivotal 10-game homestand by winning for the fifth time in its past six.