NEW YORK — Lucas Duda and the New York Mets gladly got into a game of home run derby with the Atlanta Braves.
David Wright, Yoenis Cespedes and Duda hit loud homers in the first inning as the Mets teed off to back Bartolo Colon, beating Atlanta 4-1 on Monday night for their ninth win in 10 games.
“Everybody kind of clicked together,” Duda said.
The Mets’ homer barrage came in a span of 16 pitches. The Braves have hit just five homers all season, by far the fewest in the majors for the team with the worst record in the big leagues.
A few weeks shy of his 43rd birthday, Colon (2-1) pitched eight scoreless innings. He coasted to his 220th career victory, breaking a tie with Pedro Martinez for the second-most among Dominican-born pitchers and trailing only the 243 by Hall of Famer Juan Marichal.
“It’s pretty neat to pass Pedro,” Colon through a translator. “He’ll always be one of the big ones.”
Colon gave up seven hits, six in the first three innings, walked none and struck out seven. He threw 99 pitches — 77 strikes — in the longest outing by a Mets starter this year. He was 4-0 against Atlanta last season.
Mike Foltynewicz (0-1) came up from Triple-A as the Braves reshuffled their roster, making seven moves. The 24-year-old right-hander had been out of the majors since potentially life-threatening blood clots were found in his right shoulder late last season. He later had surgery to remove part of a rib.
“I don’t want to look at that as an excuse, this is my first time back off a blood clot or anything,” he said.
“I was ready. I was ready for this game. It was probably the best I’ve felt all year coming in to the game,” he said.
A day after they were shut down by Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, the Mets made it a rough return for Foltynewicz. They hit three homers in the first inning for the first time since April 13, 2006, the Elias Sports Bureau said, when Carlos Beltran, Wright and Cliff Floyd did it at Washington against Livan Hernandez.
“We were able to take advantage of a young pitcher,” Cespedes said through a translator.
Wright connected with one out and Michael Conforto singled. Cespedes, who had a golf club stretched across his locker before the game, then launched a long drive to left-centre for his eighth home run. Duda followed with a liner off the facing of the second deck in right.
When Asdrubal Cabrera doubled later in the inning, Foltynewicz walked with his head down to back up the play. With two outs and two on, Colon hooked a hard shot just foul down the left field line.
“I don’t think I’ve ever hit a ball as hard as that,” Colon said.
From the dugout, Mets manager Terry Collins thought it might land fair, allowing the portly Colon to run for an extra-base hit.
“I wasn’t sure how many extra bases,” Collins kidded.
Overall, the Mets have outscored opponents 21-3 in the first inning this season.
Cespedes has been on a recent tear with 16 RBIs in eight games. He’s helped the Mets homer 34 times in their last 16 games.
Foltynewicz was pulled when Cespedes came up with two on and two outs in the fourth.
RINGS-N-THINGS
Braves utilityman Kelly Johnson and reliever Eric O’Flaherty got their 2015 NL championship rings from Mets general manager Sandy Alderson and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon before the game. Johnson was traded from Atlanta to the Mets last July and wound up playing in the World Series. O’Flaherty didn’t pitch in the post-season.
SLUGGING STATS
Cespedes hit his 25th home run since joining the Mets last July. He reached the mark in 77 games, topping the previous fastest pace of 88 games by Carlos Delgado. … The Mets have homered back-to-back five times this year, most in the majors. … The Mets also hit three homers in an inning at Cleveland last month.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: 2B Reid Brignac was hit in the face when Wright’s grounder deflected off second base and skipped up. Brignac was examined and stayed in. He was promoted from Triple-A before the game.
UP NEXT
Mets RHP Matt Harvey (2-3, 4.76) faces RHP Matt Wisler (0-2, 4.26). Harvey lost his first three starts this season before winning at Turner Field on April 22. Wisler beat the Mets in his big league debut last June with eight sharp innings.
