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 Neil Walker, acquired from Pittsburgh in an offseason trade, hit
two of the Mets' six home runs as they battered the Philadelphia
Phillies 11-1 Tuesday night.
"Hitting," he said, "is contagious."
Especially when a lineup is stocked with long-ball threats, as is
the case with the Mets.
"It's kind of the way our club's been built," manager Terry Collins
said. "We've got a lot of guys who can hit it over the fence.
There's no easy guy in that lineup."
Both of Walker's homers were solo shots off Philadelphia reliever
Brett Oberholtzer.
It was the fourth multi-homer game of Walker's career, and his first
since July 1, 2015, when he hit two at Detroit. He also homered in
Monday's victory over the Phillies, and now has six this season.
Walker, whose career high of 23 came in 2014, is the first Mets
second baseman to hit six or more home runs in the month of April
since Jeff Kent hit eight in April 1994.
Yoenis Cespedes hit a three-run homer and Michael Conforto, Lucas
Duda and Curtis Granderson added two-run shots for New York, which
won for the fifth time in six games to improve to 7-6.
The home run total fell one short of the club's single-game record,
set exactly 11 years ago, on April 19, 2005, in Philadelphia's
Citizens Bank Park.
 The run total was a season high for the Mets, who have scored 33
over their last five games. They managed just 20 in their first
eight.
"Incredible at-bats by the whole team," Conforto said. "Hitting is
contagious. You get energy in the dugout, see excitement and guys
want to join the party."
Logan Verrett, making his second start in place of Jacob deGrom,
pitched six shutout innings to earn the victory. Verrett (1-0)
struck out four and walked one.
Verrett also contributed his first major league hit, a leadoff
double in the fifth.
The Phillies, who lost for the fourth time in five games, scored
their only run on Ryan Howard's RBI single in the eighth inning. The
next hitter, Maikel Franco, was robbed of a three-run homer by New
York outfielder Juan Lagares, who made a leaping catch at the
center-field fence.
"We didn't pitch well, and we didn't hit well," Philadelphia manager
Pete Mackanin said. "We just didn't play very well tonight. There's
just not a lot to say."
Phillies starter Vince Velasquez, who had not allowed a run while
winning his first two starts, was chased after surrendering five
runs (two earned) and five hits over 4 1/3 innings. Velasquez (2-1)
struck out four without allowing a walk.
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Conforto and Cespedes each homered on 0-2 breaking balls from
Velasquez in the first and third, respectively.
Conforto, elevated from seventh to third in the Mets' order five
games ago, hit his second homer of the season after David Wright
doubled with one out for a 2-0 lead.
Cespedes launched his fourth of the year into the left-field seats.
Verrett reached on an error to start the inning and two outs later
Conforto singled. Cespedes then made it 5-0.
"Two pitches impacted the whole game," Velasquez said. "I could have
located better. Just bad execution. On those two pitches, you've got
to finish the at-bat."
Walker gave New York a 6-0 bulge with his first homer off
Oberholtzer.
One inning later, Walker followed Duda's two-run blast with another
solo shot, putting the Mets up 9-0.
Duda's homer was his second of the season, and his second in as many
days. Granderson's two-run shot in the eighth, off reliever James
Russell, was also his second of the year.
NOTES: Phillies 2B Andres Blanco started for just the fourth time
this season and hit in the No. 3 spot in the lineup for the first
time. "He's swinging the bat as well, if not better, than anybody
we've got," manager Pete Mackanin said of Blanco, who brought a .286
average into the game, "so I just thought, put him in there and see
if he can jump-start the offense a little bit." Blanco went 2-for-3,
but his base-running error short-circuited a first-inning threat.
... Mets RHP Noah Syndergaard had eight strikeouts in Monday's win
over the Phillies and has racked up 29 through three starts, most in
the majors and the second most in team history during a similar
span. RHP Pedro Martinez struck out 30 batters through his first
three outings in 2005. Syndergaard is also eighth in the majors in
ERA (0.90). ... The Mets announced before the game that RHP Jacob
deGrom threw 71 pitches in a simulated game Tuesday in Florida and
will start Sunday against the Braves in Atlanta. DeGrom made one
start this season before he was sidelined by tightness in his right
lat. He was subsequently given family emergency leave when his
newborn son experienced undisclosed health complications. His son
was released from a Florida hospital Monday.
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