May 10, 2015
Bartolo Colon became the first pitcher in the majors with six wins, and Curtis Granderson hit a two-run homer to lead the New York Mets over the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 on Sunday.
Colon (6-1) wasn't quite as good as he's been much of the season, but he was good enough despite giving up a homer to opposing pitcher Chad Billingsley. The right-hander, who turns 42 this month, allowed four runs and eight hits with six strikeouts and no walks in six-plus innings.
Colon extended his streak without a walk to 40 1-3 innings, pulling closer to the franchise record of 47 set by Bret Saberhagen in 1994. The 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner has 40 strikeouts and one walk this season, the best ratio in the big leagues.
Daniel Murphy had three hits and pinch-hitter Johnny Monell delivered a two-run double for the Mets, who have won nine of 10 series against Philadelphia since 2012.
Jeurys Familia pitched a scoreless ninth for his NL-leading 13th save in as many opportunities.
The final two outs were stellar defensive plays, first by Ruben Tejada at second base when he flipped the ball to first with his glove. Left fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis then made a sliding catch against the wall in foul territory to end the game.
Billingsley (0-2), making his second start after missing two years due to a pair of right elbow operations, gave up five runs and eight hits in five-plus innings, raising his ERA to 9.90.
Billingsley launched Colon's 0-2 pitch with one out in the third into the netting attached to the foul pole in left. It was the third career homer for Billingsley.
New York tied it in the fourth on Wilmer Flores' run-scoring single. After the Phillies took a 2-1 lead in the bottom half on Grady Sizemore's RBI single, the Mets went in front for good in the fifth.
Granderson drove a two-run homer into the seats in right, giving New York a 3-2 advantage. Flores and Nieuwenhuis both doubled and scored in the sixth to make it a three-run lead.
The Phillies got a pair of runs back in the seventh on pinch-hit RBIs by Cesar Hernandez and Jeff Francoeur and had a chance to take the lead. But Ryan Howard grounded out with the bases loaded against reliever Alex Torres for the final out of the inning.
The Mets went up 7-4 in the eighth on Monell's double to right-center.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mets: Top prospect Noah Syndergaard will make his major league debut Tuesday against the Cubs in Chicago, replacing Dillon Gee (groin) in the rotation. Syndergaard was 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA in five starts for Triple-A Las Vegas this season.
Phillies: Chase Utley was hit on the left elbow by a pitch from Torres in the seventh but remained in the game. After being plunked, Utley dropped his bat, walked toward the Phillies dugout in apparent pain and then glared out at Torres. Upon reaching first base, Utley pushed away the team trainer.
UP NEXT
Mets: RHP Jacob deGrom (3-3, 2.95 ERA) looks to get untracked on the road when the Mets open a four-game series against the Cubs on Monday night at Wrigley Field. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year is 0-2 with a 6.55 ERA in two starts away from Citi Field this season.
Phillies: RHP Jerome Williams (2-2, 5.18) takes the mound in the first of a four-game home series against Pittsburgh on Monday night.
