NEW YORK (AP) – Wilmer Flores and Jacob deGrom made Terry Collins’ grand idea look like genius.
The Mets manager slotted New York’s top home-run hitter ninth in the batting order for the first time in nearly a half-century and batted his pitcher eighth for the third time this season.
Flores responded with a grand slam off Matt Garza that sparked a 10-run fourth inning in a 14-1 romp over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night that stopped New York’s five-game losing streak.
DeGrom was 3 for 3 with three singles – including a go-ahead hit in the second and two more in the fourth. He became only the second pitcher since at least 1914 to have three hits in the No. 8 hole, according to STATS, following St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright against Atlanta on Aug. 22, 2008. And deGrom picked an appropriate time for the hat trick – it was fedora giveaway night at Citi Field.
Flores, wearing neon orange batting gloves, followed deGrom’s second hit of night by driving a 94 mph inside fastball over the 370-foot sign and into the left-field party deck, an area where the Mets brought in the fence before the 2012 season. He became the first starting NL position player to hit a grand slam from the No. 9 hole in an NL ballpark, STATS said.