Wright homers in return, Mets hit 8, beat Phillies 16-7
PHILADELPHIA — David Wright's return sparked a home run derby.
Wright hit a long homer on his first major-league swing in 133 days, Wilmer Flores went deep twice and the New York Mets set a franchise record with eight long balls in a 16-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night.
Yoenis Cespedes, Juan Lagares, Travis d'Arnaud, Daniel Murphy and Michael Cuddyer also connected for the NL East leaders, who extended their cushion to a season-best 5½ games over second-place Washington.
"An unbelievable team win," Wright said. "When you're thinking about coming back, and I had a lot of time to think about it, you think of different scenarios, and you think of your first at-bat and what it's going to feel like, and try to keep your emotions in check. It couldn't have been any better for me, personally, my first at-bat."
New York set a franchise record with 15 extra-base hits — seven doubles and eight homers. The teams tied an NL record with 11 combined homers.
"I have not experienced something like that," Mets manager Terry Collins said.
Fresh off scoring 33 runs in a three-game sweep at Colorado, the Mets slugged their way back from a 7-2 deficit after Jacob deGrom's shortest career outing. The 2014 NL Rookie of the Year lasted just 2 2/3 innings and allowed a career-high seven runs on eight hits. His ERA rose from 1.98 to 2.29.
Sean Gilmartin (3-1) had four strikeouts in 3 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win as the Mets (68-56) moved 12 games over .500 for the first time since finishing 89-73 in 2008.
"You've been watching on TV, and you could just see the look in these guys' faces, that they never believe they're going to lose," Wright said. "I got a chance to experience that firsthand tonight, and it was a lot of fun."
Ryan Howard and Domonic Brown each hit a three-run homer and Cameron Rupp also took deGrom deep. But the Mets chased starter Adam Morgan and rallied against Hector Neris (2-1).
Wright returned to the lineup after missing more than four months with spinal stenosis. He drove a 1-1 pitch from Morgan into the second deck in left field leading off the second inning.
The 32-year-old Wright received a standing ovation from Mets fans at Citizens Bank Park when he ran onto the field, a louder ovation when he came to the plate and more cheers when he connected. He finished 2 for 5 with a walk, scored three runs and made two errors at third base.
"I need to clean up a little defensively. That was disappointing," Wright said.
The Mets continued their dominance over the Phillies with their ninth win in 10 games this year and 21st in the last 26 meetings. They are 11-3 in Philadelphia the last two seasons.
"Every once in a while you run into these lopsided games, but this was disappointing," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "Jumping on deGrom for seven runs was special. Seven runs, 11 hits, you should win most games like that."
Howard hit a three-run shot the opposite way to left field to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead in the first.
After Wright hit a 435-foot homer, Rupp drove one 460 feet to straightaway center for his fifth homer in his last 12 games and a 4-1 lead.
Lagares golfed an 0-2 pitch out to left in the third to cut it to 4-2. Brown answered in the bottom half to extend the lead to 7-2. Flores hit a two-run shot in the fourth and d'Arnaud followed with a homer.
Flores' three-run drive to left gave the Mets an 8-7 lead in the fifth. Cuddyer then went deep to make it 9-7. Cespedes connected with one out in the ninth, a shot off the facing of the second deck in left field for New York's eighth homer.
"We were down by (five) runs, and we never gave up," Flores said. "It's really fun being here right now."
The Mets hit seven homers in Philadelphia on April 19, 2005. They had 13 extra-base hits at Arizona on Aug. 24, 2005.
New York set a team record with 51 total bases, seven more than the previous mark in that 2005 game against the Diamondbacks.
NL teams combined for 11 homers five other times. It last happened on May 17, 1979, at Wrigley Field when the Phillies hit five and the Cubs had six.
The major league record for most homers combined is 12.
POWER COMPANY
No more than five Mets had ever homered in one game before. ... The previous team to get 15 extra-base hits in a game was Cincinnati at Colorado on May 19, 1999.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mets: 1B Lucas Duda is expected to return once he's eligible to come off the disabled list on Sept. 6, according to GM Sandy Alderson. Duda is out with a back injury, but a second opinion was favorable.
UP NEXT
Mets rookie Noah Syndergaard (7-6, 3.17 ERA) faces Phillies RHP Jerome Williams (4-9, 6.10). Syndergaard pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings for a win in his only start vs. Philadelphia on May 27. Williams is 1-2 with a 4.26 ERA in six starts vs. the Mets.
