Daniel Murphy hit a two-run homer, Mike Pelfrey pitched 5 1-3 effective innings and the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 on Friday night in the first meeting between the two rivals.
Before the game, general manager Omar Minaya avoided a potential firestorm by backing off comments he made Thursday that the team lacked an edge.
"Let's be clear: We have an edge," Minaya said Friday night. "Our edge is different from maybe other teams. There's different definitions of edge or leadership. We play the game different from other guys. Some guys are serious. Some guys are happy. Some guys are blue collar."
Pelfrey (3-0) allowed three runs and seven hits. He also chipped in with two RBIs, matching his previous career total.
J.J. Putz, who blew a one-run lead in a loss to Florida on Wednesday, pitched a scoreless eighth. Francisco Rodriguez finished for his fifth save in five chances.
"I guess we had an edge tonight," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "I feel good about how we approached the game. We have to bring that level of intensity and focus every night no matter who we play."
Chase Utley hit his eighth homer of the season for the Phillies, who got another poor outing from a starter. Chan Ho Park (0-1) gave up seven runs and eight hits, walking six in 4 2-3 innings.
The Mets jumped on Park early, taking a 5-0 lead in the third inning. Murphy hit a two-run homer in the first, Pelfrey and Omir Santos had sacrifice flies in the second, and Santos added another one in the third.
Park, who won a four-man competition for the fifth starter's job in spring training, could be in danger of going back to the bullpen. He has an 8.57 ERA in five appearances, including four starts.
"I'm not ready to say Park won't be starting," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He earned a chance this spring. You have to show patience, but our pitching has to get better."
The Phillies got three runs back in the bottom half of the third. Raul Ibanez delivered a broken-bat, two-run single with two outs. Pedro Feliz followed with an RBI single to right to cut it to 5-3.
Wright and Pelfrey had RBI singles in the fifth to stretch the Mets' lead to four and Chase Utley hit a solo homer off Pedro Feliciano in the seventh.
Giants 3, Rockies 2
Randy Johnson yielded four hits and struck out nine over seven scoreless innings in his 297th career victory, leading the surging Giants past visiting Colorado.
Johnson (2-2) struck out the first five Rockies he faced and retired the first 11 overall in his second straight dominant home start for the Giants, who moved above .500 for the first time since April 9 with their ninth win in 12 games.
Chris Iannetta homered to lead off the eighth, and Todd Helton added a run-scoring infield single before Giants closer Brian Wilson struck out Ryan Spilborghs with the bases loaded. Wilson then pitched the ninth for his sixth save in seven chances.
Reds 4, Pirates 0
Bronson Arroyo bounced back from his worst start of the season to limit host Pittsburgh to four singles over eight innings, a slumping Brandon Phillips homered and the Reds ran the Pirates' scoreless innings streak to 22.
Arroyo (4-1) and reliever Francisco Cordero combined to give up five hits, none for extra bases, in the Reds' fourth shutout victory of the season.
The Pirates were blanked for the second straight game, and haven't scored since the fifth inning of a 6-5 loss to the Brewers on Tuesday.
Cardinals 6, Nationals 2
Albert Pujols hit one of visiting St. Louis' season-high four home runs, backing Todd Wellemeyer's seven effective innings.
Chris Duncan and Ryan Ludwick connected off Jordan Zimmermann in the rookie right-hander's first career loss. Joe Thurston later added his first major league home run for St. Louis, which has won three in a row and nine of 11 overall.
Wellemeyer (2-2) allowed two runs on six hits, walked two and struck out three. The Cardinals' 17-7 start is their best since 1944.
Willie Harris homered for the Nationals, whose 5-17 record is the worst in the majors.
