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 Granderson homered twice, and deGrom pitched seven solid innings to
help the Mets beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-3 on Sunday afternoon.
"We need Curtis to be himself and that's to hit some home runs,"
Mets manager Terry Collins said. "I have no problem with him jumping
on something early in the game, early in the count and hitting a
home run."
Third baseman Eric Campbell and shortstop Wilmer Flores also homered
for the Mets (31-27), who snapped a two-game losing streak and moved
a half-game ahead of Washington in the NL East. All five New York
runs scored on homers.
"When you look at how we put it together in spring training, there
are going to be games like this," Collins said. "But it starts with
the fact that we got pretty good pitching."
DeGrom allowed three runs -- two earned -- on five hits. He walked
three and struck out 10, his sixth career double-digit strikeout
game and second in four starts.
"I was leaving it up to the first two guys, but after that I was
able to get it down and get some ground balls," deGrom said.
Right-hander Jeurys Familia pitched the ninth for his 17th save in
18 chances.
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt singled, walked, scored a run and
drove in a run for the Diamondbacks, who lost for the second time in
their past six outings.
Arizona (27-29) has lost five straight games when it had a chance to
get back to .500 since opening the season 8-8.
Diamondbacks right-hander Josh Collmenter gave up five runs on nine
hits over six innings, including a career-worst four home runs
allowed. He walked one and struck out one.
"Any time you are giving up balls out of the park, you're not doing
a very good job," Collmenter said. "I just can't pitch in the middle
of the zone. All the home runs were probably balls over the middle
of the plate."
Right fielder Granderson gave the Mets a 1-0 lead four pitches into
the game with his third leadoff home run of the season and the 31st
of his career.
Arizona answered quickly.
Center fielder Ender Inciarte doubled and went to second on a double
by left fielder A.J. Pollock. Goldschmidt followed with a grounder
to third base, but Campbell threw wide to second, allowing Inciarte
to score and Pollock to advance to third.
Pollock came home on a sacrifice fly to center by right fielder
David Peralta to give the Diamondbacks a 2-1 lead.
But Collmenter could not take advantage of the offense. Center
fielder Juan Lagares bounced a ground-rule double over the right
field fence, and Campbell homered into the left-field stands to put
the Mets ahead 3-2.
"I'm always more pissed when I make an error defensively than when I
hit a home run," Campbell said. "But the offense can make up for it
a little bit, I guess."
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Granderson struck again in the fifth with a solo shot leading off
the fifth for a 4-2 Mets lead.
"If he is up and out over the plate they get him," said Arizona
manager Chip Hale. "He has to either get it up and in or up and
cutting it off the plate where they chase it. He just hasn't had
good location and big leaguers hurt you."
Granderson's two-homer game was the 16th of his career and first
since June 8, 2014, at San Francisco.
DeGrom, meanwhile, retired the next five batters he faced after
Peralta's sacrifice fly and 14 of 16 the next overall.
"He started moving the ball and using both sides of the plate
better," Collins said.
Flores led off the sixth with a home run to left to make it 5-2.
Goldschmidt pulled Arizona back within 5-3 when he singled and
scored in the bottom of the sixth.
Pinch-hitter Darrell Ceciliani added an RBI single in the ninth off
right-hander J.C. Ramirez to extend the Mets' lead to 6-3.
NOTES: The Mets tied a franchise record with four stolen bases in
the ninth inning, matching a mark set September 15, 1984 against
Philadelphia at Shea Stadium. ... The Diamondbacks activated RHP
David Hernandez from the 15-day disabled list. Hernandez has not
appeared in a major league game since Sept. 29, 2013 after
undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2014. Hernandez did not allow
a run in seven rehab appearances spanning six innings. ...
Diamondbacks 3B Jake Lamb, activated from the 15-day disabled list
on Saturday, made his first start since April 18. ... Mets SS Wilmer
Flores was back in the starting lineup after a night off for general
soreness. ... Mets RHP Vic Black, who broke camp on the 15-day
disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis, pitched a scoreless
inning with one strikeout Saturday night for Triple-A Las Vegas. ...
Mets RHP Bobby Parnell, working his way back from Tommy John surgery
in April 2014, surrendered a home run and struck out one in one
inning of work for Double-A Binghamton.
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