New York Mets clinch first division title since 2006

CINCINNATI -- Frank Sinatra, more famous for a certain New York song, also once sang that "Love Is Better the Second Time Around."

David Wright now believes the same thing about winning championships.

The longtime New York Mets third baseman, limited by injuries to 33 games this season, hit a three-run, ninth-inning home run to cap their 10-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, clinching their first National League East Division championship since 2006, his second full season in the major leagues.

"I think I took 2006 for granted," he said on the field amid a drizzle that could have been rain or Champagne. It didn't deter a large crowd of Mets fans gathered behind the visitors' dugout, one waving a yellow sign with black ink that said, "David Worth the Wait."

"These last few months, I've been trying to enjoy it as much as possible," Wright said. "When you're in rehab, this is what you dream of."

Lucas Duda hit his first career grand slam in the first inning, giving him 10 RBIs on three home runs over the last two games, and Curtis Granderson added a second-inning solo shot as the Mets clinched their sixth division title and eighth postseason berth.

Michael Cuddyer chipped in with a two-run double to help New York set a franchise record with its 10th consecutive road victory, breaking the record set by that 2006 team.

The Mets went into the game having clinched a tie for their sixth division championship since Major League Baseball split the National and American league into two divisions in 1969. New York also has qualified for postseason play twice as a wild-card team.

The Mets didn't have to win Saturday to clinch the NL East championship. A Washington loss would have done the trick, but the Mets decided to not wait around for a Nationals loss that might not happen.

"I like the fact that we didn't back in," chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said in a clubhouse soaked with Champagne and beer. "At the end of the day, the players did it themselves."

Jeurys Familia's game-ending strikeout of Jay Bruce prompted a relatively muted celebration near the pitcher's mound.

"We've waited a long time for this," fifth-year manager Terry Collins said. "This is tremendous."

Spurred by a sizable contingent of Mets fans among the crowd of 32,293, Matt Harvey allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings to improve to 5-0 with a 2.35 ERA over his last 10 starts.

Harvey (13-7) worked around nine hits, the third time this season he has allowed that many, by allowing zero walks and striking out six.

"It's a lot harder to watch a team clinch if you're in the race and you're the ones affected," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "I'd rather it not happen in our ballpark, but you have to acknowledge what the Mets have done. They had a great year."

Rookie left-hander John Lamb (1-4) allowed five runs and three hits, with two walks and four strikeouts, in two innings in his ninth major league start as the Reds extended their losing streak to seven games. The loss was Cincinnati's 91st of the season, the most since the Reds lost 93 in 2003.

The contrast with the celebrating Mets was stark.

"It stinks to have them clinch against you," third baseman Todd Frazier said. "You look back on our year. We've been there before and you want to get that feeling again. You're happy for them. You hate to lose, but you're still happy for them. At the same time, it's a kick in the rear end."

Joey Votto singled in the fifth, seventh and ninth innings to extend his career-high streak of games reaching base to 43.

Duda, who hit a pair of three-run homers in New York's 12-5 victory Friday night, blistered a 417-foot line drive into the visitors' bullpen down the right-field line for his 25th home run of the season, giving the Mets a 4-0 lead two outs into the game.

The homer was the left-handed-hitting Duda's seventh of the season against southpaws and the eighth grand slam allowed by Reds pitchers this season.

Granderson also reached 25 homers with a two-out solo shot in the second.

The Reds opened the second with three straight hits, including Ivan De Jesus Jr.'s two-run double.

The Mets got those runs back on Michael Cuddyer's two-run double in the third.

Cincinnati center fielder Jason Bourgeois leaped high at the fence to rob Daniel Murphy of a home run leading off the fifth inning, but he couldn't reach Wright's fifth homer of the season, a three-run shot in the ninth off of Burke Badenhop.

NOTES: Mets INF Juan Uribe apparently aggravated the rib cage injury he suffered last Sunday, leaving his status for postseason play in question. "He's hurting," manager Terry Collins said, adding that the veteran probably won't be available on the rest of the trip, which is scheduled to conclude on Thursday in Philadelphia. Uribe, 36, is hitting .219 in 44 games with the Mets. "Hopefully, he'll return in the next few days," Collins said. "He could help us out." ... Mets RHP Jeurys Familia needs one save to tie Armando Benitez for the franchise record. Benitez logged 43 in 2001. ... Reds RHP Homer Bailey has started throwing as he continues his comeback from Tommy John surgery. "He said he feels like he hasn't had surgery," manager Bryan Price said. "He feels like he's capable of throwing breaking balls and bullpens -- which he isn't allowed to do."