Final Score: Mets 6, Diamondbacks 2—Mayberry Celebrates Whacking Day

John Mayberry, Jr. had a breakout night at the plate, Matt Harvey was dominant for stretches despite giving up two solo home runs, and Jeurys Familia came on for a three-wild pitch, five-out save as the Mets took the first game of four in Arizona, 6-2.

Mayberry, who entered the game hitting .137, sent lasers all over left field tonight on his way to a four-hit night, including two doubles, and a two-run home run in the ninth to salt the game away.

Harvey (W, 6-3) did not have his best stuff early on, and was again stung by the long ball as Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Paul Goldschmidt took pitches with bad location out of the yard. Still, he struck out nine—five hitters in a row during one stretch—and hit 98 on the gun consistently in the middle of his outing, while finding his command as the game went on. He finished with 105 pitches over seven innings, allowing six hits and walking one.

The first five innings were a familiar exercise in frustration for the Mets offense, as they left 8 men on base without scoring, while hot-hitting Daniel Murphy left the game with tightness in his quad. Fortune began to smile on the Metropolitans in the sixth, as they finally broke through with runners in scoring position: Kevin Plawecki cranked a two-run double, and Curtis Granderson smacked a pinch-hit RBI single.

With the win and the Nationals loss to the Cubs, the Mets have crept back into first place with a half-game lead.

Full recap of the win here.

GameThread Roll Call

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; her effort in the GameThread embiggens us all.