NEW YORK: Don’t worry about the Mets when they play at Citi Field, that’s not their problem. The Mets continued their home dominance on Saturday, beating the Marlins 6-1 to improve to an MLB best 21-9 at home.
The man who had been slumping for a while, Ike Davis, led the charge with his first career four-hit game, including two doubles, an RBI, and three runs scored.
The effort was in support of 23-year-old left-hander Jon Niese, who was coming back from a hamstring injury against these Marlins on May 16.
Niese was spectacular in his return, going seven strong innings, allowing one run on an RBI single by Ronny Paulino in the seventh, on six hits, he struck out six, walked one, and hit a batter.
Niese had his pitches working all day. He had a filthy curveball and a tight cutter bearing in on the right handers, which helped him produce two double play grounders.
After getting into some trouble in the seventh but only allowing one run, Niese was pulled from the game to his dismay.
His pitch count was fairly low, but it was his return from injury, so manager Jerry Manuel played it safe.
While Niese was doing his thing, the Mets offense was scoring runs to help him out. The Mets got to work against lefty Nate Robertson, who had beaten them twice this season.
In the second, Ike Davis led off with a double. With two on, Jeff Francoeur, swinging a hot bat, singled in the game’s first run. That was followed by a Ruben Tejada RBI double, giving the Mets a 2-0 lead.
In the third, Angel Pagan led off with a double. Two batters later, Ike Davis singled in a run and David Wright followed up with a two-run home run, just wrapping it around the foul pole in left. That extended the lead to 5-0.
The Mets would add a run in the fifth on an RBI single by David Wright, giving him 39 RBI on the season. His home run was his 150th career shot.
It went on to be an easy 6-1 win for the Mets, who continue to win home series’. They are now 29-27 on the season, and will try and sweep the Marlins tomorrow with Hisanori Takahashi on the mound, before taking Monday off. The Padres come to town after that.
Series probable pitchers:
June 6
New York: Hisanori Takahashi (2010: 4-2, 3.21 ERA) vs. Florida: Ricky Nolasco (2010: 5-4, 4.57 ERA)
Upcoming schedule:
New York Mets:
June 6 vs. Florida Marlins
June 8-10 vs. San Diego Padres
Florida Marlins:
June 6 @ New York Mets
June 8-10 @ Philadelphia Phillies
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