The New York Mets are in first place again.
One day after a heart wrenching loss, the Mets, with the help of a win by the Chicago Cubs over the Washington Nationals, once again sit atop the N.L East with a 1/2-game lead. They managed to get there with an overdue offensive outburst.
Curtis Granderson led off the game with a solo home run off Arizona Diamondbacks starter Josh Collmenter, but Arizona would get two runs back in the bottom of the first, thanks largely to an error by New York third basemen Eric Campbell.
Campbell had been struggling mightily lately, both in the field and at the plate, but he gave the Mets the lead in the next half inning with a two run homer, his second of 2015.
The Mets hit four home runs in the game, knocking Collmenter around for nine hits and five runs in six innings. In the top of the fifth, Granderson would launch his second home run of the game and eighth of the season into right field, extending the Mets' lead to 4-2. Wilmer Flores hit his ninth home run of the season in the sixth inning, which extended the Mets' lead to three, and New York never looked back.
Jacob deGrom pitched great for the Mets, striking out ten batters in seven innings while allowing just three runs (only two of which were earned) on five hits and three walks.
The Diamondbacks would cut the lead to two in the bottom of the sixth with a Chris Owings RBI bunt single, but the Mets held them down afterwards. New York tacked on an extra run in the eighth with Darrell Ceciliani's RBI single, and the Mets' bullpen took care of business down the stretch. Hansel Robles and Jeurys Familia were both perfect, allowing no hits and no walks combined. Familia picked up his 17th save of the season, making him tied for fifth in the Majors.
Up next, the Diamondbacks head to Los Angeles for a three-game set with the Los Angeles Dodgers while the Mets head back home for a three-game series with the San Francisco Giants.