PHOENIX (AP) - Nothing like a trip to Chase Field to turn things around for the New York Mets.
Dillon Gee allowed three hits in seven scoreless innings, and the Mets beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2 Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.
Arizona finished an 0-6 homestand in which it led at the end of just one inning and dropped to 1-11 in home games, including a pair of losses in Australia that started the season. At 4-14, the Diamondbacks are off to their worst 18-game start.
“I don’t know what we’re in need of besides playing better baseball - an exorcism of something,” Arizona starter Brandon McCarthy said. “We’ve crossed over into that bad side. Obviously morale’s low. You’ve got a team that’s fighting and doing everything to get out of it, but we just can’t seem to climb out of it really in any sense.”
Gee (1-0) retired his first 14 batters before Martin Prado’s double down the left-field line. He struck out three, walked none and threw 72 pitches. Gee also had an RBI groundout and made a nice play in the sixth after centerfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis failed in a diving attempt to catch Gerardo Parra’s blooper. Parra took off for second and Gee, seeing no one covering the base, rushed to the bag and tagged the runner out on the throw from shortstop Ruben Tejada.
Gee pitched at least six innings for the 24th time in his last 26 starts.
“It all kind of clicked today, and I felt pretty good,” he said.
Catcher Anthony Recker said “you could tell when he was warming up in the ’pen he had really good stuff, and he was able to carry it into the game.”
Mets manager Terry Collins said he pulled Gee after a couple of pitches were hit hard off him.
“Terry did what he had to do, and I respect it,” Gee said, “but I definitely want to keep going.”
Recker hit a solo homer off McCarthy. Two errors led to the final two Mets runs in the ninth.
New York has won four of five and went 6-3 on its trip, extending its Chase Field winning streak to five.
“A tremendous road trip,” Collins said. “They picked it up, they got big hits when we needed hits.”
Starting pitching has been the biggest problem in the Diamondbacks’ skid, but not this time.
McCarthy (0-3) gave up three runs, nine hits and three walks - two intentional - in 5 2-3 innings.
“Mack threw good enough to win that game,” Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. “We played poorly. We continue to play poorly. … We made mistakes, we ran into an out, we made a couple of errors, we’re not able to contain guys running the bases and we’re not able to throw the ball to first base.”
Aaron Hill and Paul Goldschmidt homered off Jose Valverde in the ninth, and Prado had three hits for the Diamondbacks.
Recker homered in the second, Nieuwenhuis had a sacrifice fly in the fourth and Gee’s RBI made it 3-0 in the sixth.
When Goldschmidt doubled off the center-field wall with one out in the seventh, Miguel Montero hit a drive to right that Andrew Brown caught with a leap at the fence. Goldschmidt was stranded when Mark Trumbo grounded out weakly to shortstop.
“I really want to continue this momentum going back home,” Young said. “It was definitely a good road trip as a team. We put that first home stand behind us and now we can continue where we want to go.”
NOTES: Young twice stole second and has nine steals this season. … The Mets selected RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka’s contract from Triple-A Las Vegas and sent LHP John Lannan outright to Las Vegas. Lannan can refuse the assignment and elect to become a free agent. … Both teams have Thursday off. … The Diamondbacks were 5-13 to start their inaugural 1998 season.
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