Curtis Granderson went 3-for-5 with four RBI and the New York Mets won their ninth game in a row with a 7-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves that opened a three-game set.
Juan Lagares drove in a pair of runs while Eric Campbell, Kevin Plawecki and Wilmer Flores each scored twice for the Mets, who are on their longest winning streak since a 10-game run from July 5-17, 2008.
Jon Niese (2-0) gave up just one run on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings to pick up the win.
Cameron Maybin's solo home run accounted for all the offense for the Braves, who have lost four of their last six. Trevor Cahill (0-2) was tagged for four runs -- three earned -- on five hits with a walk in four-plus innings.
The game stayed scoreless until the Mets went ahead in top in the fifth. Their first three batters reached to load the bases and Niese hit a grounder to second that Phil Gosselin misplayed for an error, leaving the bags loaded and scoring a run. Granderson followed with a two-run single to right and Lagares then hit a single up the middle for a 4-0 lead.
In the sixth, New York tacked on another run when Campbell walked to lead off and Niese worked a two-out walk to keep the inning alive. Granderson followed with a single to right for a 5-0 advantage.
Atlanta got on the board in the seventh when Maybin hit a two-out solo homer to left. The play had to be checked to see if the ball left the park, but a quick review showed that it hit the fence above the wall and Maybin was awarded his third homer of the year.
The Mets added two more runs in the eighth on an RBI ground-rule double from Granderson, followed by a sacrifice fly from Lagares for a 7-1 advantage.
Game Notes
New York left fielder Michael Cuddyer had his seven-game hitting streak come to an end due to an 0-for-4 game, but Lagares extended his streak to eight games ... The Braves recalled pitcher Ian Thomas from Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday ... Atlanta left nine men on base as the team was 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
[SportsNetwork.com]
