|
 Verrett, who won his first game in the majors, allowed four hits and
one run in eight innings. He made a spot start in place of Matt
Harvey, whom the Mets skipped to limit his innings to about 190 this
year following Tommy John surgery in 2013.
"I joked with Matt the other day," Verrett said. "I said, 'Why's
everybody freaking out? Don't they know I'm a way better pitcher
than you.'?"
Verrett (1-0) threw 93 pitches and retired 14 of the final 16
batters he faced after right fielder Carlos Gonzalez homered in the
fourth. Verrett walked one and struck out eight.
"He used all his pitches, located to both sides of the plate," Mets
manager Terry Collins said. "He used his changeup really, really
effectively, which is a great pitch for him. They know they got to
swing, because he's in the strike zone."
Verrett gave up consecutive singles in the first but got right
fielder Carlos Gonzalez to ground into a double play. Shortstop
Wilmer Flores ended the inning with a sprawling stop on third
baseman Nolan Arenado's grounder.
"First-inning execution was a little bit off," Verrett said. "But
once we got out of that inning, I knew, 'Alright, now we can get on
a roll and start putting up some zeroes on the board.' It's a pretty
good feeling to be out there eight innings, save the bullpen and get
the team a win."
The victory was the Mets' 11th straight against the Rockies and
seventh this season and enabled New York to maintain its five-game
lead over Washington in the National League East. The Mets swept the
Rockies for the first time at Coors Field.
Rockies starter David Hale had a bizarre outing. He set a franchise
record with four wild pitches, two of them consecutive allowing two
runs to score with the same batter at the plate. Hale tied his
career-high with nine strikeouts and retired the final 10 batters he
faced.
In the days before this start, Hale was working on being less
rotational in his delivery and aligned more directly to home plate.
He said he's happy with the changes and saw results as the game went
on.
"It took a few innings to get used to it," Rockies manager Walt
Weiss said of Hale's mechanical adjustments. "And then he ended up
settling in. He threw the ball pretty well the last few innings,
giving us some length (after Colorado's starters worked a combined 3
2/3 innings in the first two games of the series)."
The win was the eighth in 12 games for the Mets and their 18th in
the past 26. The Rockies lost 12 of their past 15 games and went 2-7
on a homestand that concluded Sunday.
First baseman David Murphy doubled home a run in the first. Hale
(3-5) hit Flores, the leadoff batter in the second, and gave up a
single to left fielder Michael Conforto. Right fielder Gonzalez
threw the ball over third base, allowing Conforto to take second.
With catcher Anthony Recker batting, Hale threw consecutive wild
pitches that brought in two runs, boosting the Mets' lead to 3-0.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Hale is the first major league
pitcher to throw two consecutive wild pitches allowing runs to score
with the same batter since April 30, 2013, when Nate Jones of the
Chicago White Sox did it against Texas.
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The Mets scored two two-out runs in the third. Murphy led off with a
single, moved to third on Hale's fourth wild pitch and a ground out
and scored when Flores lined a 1-2 pitch for an opposite-field
single to right. Conforto's single sent Flores to third, and he
scored on Recker's double.
Gonzalez reached the 30-homer plateau for the second time -- his
career-high is 34 homers in 2010 -- and made it 5-1 when he led off
the fourth and walloped Verrett's only glaring mistake.
"You don't throw CarGo changeups belt-high down the middle." Verrett
said.
NOTES: Rockies RHP Rafael Betancourt, 40, was designated for
assignment after going 2-4 with a 6.18 ERA in 45 games. He made 309
appearances and had 58 saves for the Rockies since they acquired him
from Cleveland in July 2009 for a minor league pitcher. ... Rockies
RHP Chad Bettis (right elbow inflammation) will be activated Tuesday
at Atlanta and start against the Braves. ... Rockies RHP Justin
Miller was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. In three stints with
the Rockies this season, Miller is 1-2 with a 4.58 ERA. ... Rockies
RHP Jairo Diaz, 24, was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque where he
was 3-5 with eight saves and a 4.58 ERA in 47 games. Diaz made his
Rockies debut and pitched a scoreless ninth. ... The Rockies
selected the contract of RHP Simon Castro, 27, from Triple-A
Albuquerque where he was 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA in 36 games. Castro
pitched two scoreless innings in his Rockies debut. ... Rockies RHP
Brooks Brown (right shoulder inflammation) was reinstated from the
disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. ... Rockies RHP
Tyler Chatwood threw 25 pitches in his third simulated game as he
continues his comeback from his second Tommy John surgery on July
24, 2014. ... Mets 3B David Wright (spinal stenosis), who last
played for the Mets on April 14, will be activated and in the lineup
Monday at Philadelphia. In nine rehab games at High Class A St.
Lucie, Wright went 9-for-28 (.321) with one RBI, five walks and six
strikeouts. After Sunday's game, the Mets optioned LHP Dario Alvarez
to Triple-A Las Vegas.
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