Mets get strong start from Harvey, take opener in Arizona

The Mets (30-25) topped the Diamondbacks by the score of 6-2 on Thursday night in Arizona, moving back into first place in the N.L. East.

Game Recap:

After the Mets squandered prime scoring opportunities in both the first and second, the Diamondbacks jumped ahead 1-0 when Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a solo homer off Matt Harvey in the bottom of the second.

The Mets couldn’t buy a hit with runners in scoring position until the sixth, when Kevin Plawecki smoked a two-run double off the top of the center field wall to give New York a 2-1 lead. Later in the inning, Ruben Tejada‘s sacrifice fly increased the Mets’ lead to 3-1.

Matt Harvey allowed a solo homer to Paul Goldschmidt in the sixth as Arizona cut the lead to 3-2.

With runners on first and second and one out in the eighth, Curtis Granderson‘s RBI single increased the Mets’ lead to 4-2.

With a runner on first and one on in the eighth, Jeurys Familia was called on for a five-out save. Familia uncorked two wild pitches and issued a walk, but struck out Paul Goldschmidt and got David Peralta to ground out to escape the jam.

John Mayberry, Jr’s two-run homer in the ninth gave the Mets a 6-2 lead.

Daniel Murphy left the game in the third inning due to a strained left quad. Terry Collins said after the game that Murphy responded well to treatment, but that the club will see how he feels on Friday before making a decision on his status.

Highlights:

• Matt Harvey settled in after a shaky first few innings, and wound up allowing two runs on six hits in seven innings of work. Harvey walked one and struck out nine.

• Ruben Tejada went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

• John Mayberry, Jr. went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI.

• Kevin Plawecki went 1-for-2 with two RBI.

• Jeurys Familia recorded the last five outs to earn the save.

Thoughts:

This was a game the Mets needed badly, but they didn’t make it easy on themselves early, squandering multiple scoring opportunities.

After Harvey settled in, the Mets finally woke up in the sixth, and got some breathing room in the ninth when John Mayberry, Jr. hit a laser of a two-run homer to left field.

It’s pretty crazy, but the Mets are actually alone in first place in the N.L. East, despite playing undermanned and often sloppy baseball. That’s obviously a good thing, but they need to tighten it up. And they need offensive reinforcements sooner rather than later.

Up Next:

The Mets play the second game of their four-game set against the Diamondbacks on Friday night at 9:40 PM.

Jon Niese gets the start for the Mets, opposed by Josh Collmenter for Arizona.