PHILADELPHIA — Jon Niese makes more deliveries in awful weather than the post office.
Rain, cold and gloom of night certainly weren’t going to keep the left-hander from giving the Mets a chance on Tuesday.
“It seems like the more I pitch in cold weather, the more I figure out how to stay warm,” Niese said after firing seven strong innings in the Mets’ 6-1 victory over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
It came six days after Niese battled high winds at Citi Field in handling the Cardinals. This time he allowed one run on four hits and one walk with five strikeouts over seven innings for a second straight win.
The Mets (15-11), who moved four games above .500 for the first time since July 14, 2012, have 15 victories in April for the first time since 2007.
With a steady rain falling for most of the game on a 46-degree night, the Mets pounded Cole Hamels and then let Niese and the bullpen finish the job. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jose Valverde each pitched a scoreless inning behind Niese (2-2).
“When you see the likes of Hamels or Michael Wacha last week and pitching in that tough weather and Jon just keeps cruising along, you’ve got to be pretty impressed the way he’s gone about it,” manager Terry Collins said.
The victory was Niese’s seventh against the Phillies — his most against any opponent. It was also the third straight start in which Niese lasted at least six innings and allowed one run.
Heavy rain is scheduled for Wednesday, threatening the completion of this two-game set. As it was, the teams waited 1 hour, 28 minutes before the first pitch on Tuesday to begin after a downpour.
Daniel Murphy finished 3-for-5 to lead the Mets’ nine-hit attack and Ruben Tejada was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
“This is a good park to hit in,” Collins said. “I think when the guys come here they like to swing the bats here.”
Tejada’s two-run single in the fifth gave the Mets a 6-1 lead and ended Hamels’ night. The left-hander Hamels was a mess, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and five walks over 4²/₃ innings in falling to 7-14 lifetime against the Mets.
Murphy’s third hit of the night, a single leading off the fifth, started the Mets’ final rally against Hamels. After Murphy stole second, Chris Young stroked an RBI double that gave the Mets a 4-1 lead. Josh Satin was then hit by a pitch and Travis d’Arnaud walked before Tejada’s single added two more runs.
“We did a good job of laying off some tough pitches [Hamels] threw,” Murphy said. “And then I think he got a little erratic — it was a tough night to throw — and we took advantage of that.”
Hamels walked four batters in the fourth, allowing the Mets to score twice and take a 3-0 lead. Satin’s RBI single produced a run before Niese walked with the bases loaded to extend the lead. Young and Curtis Granderson walked in succession to start the rally.
Niese didn’t allow a hit until the fourth, when Marlon Byrd homered with two outs and pulled the Phillies within 3-1. It was the third homer of the season for Byrd, who signed a two-year deal with the Phillies last offseason after spending most of 2013 with the Mets.
But Niese recovered and didn’t allow another runner to reach second base.
“I just kept my hands warm, that was the biggest key,” Niese said. “I’m just trying to keep the balls dry and I was able to control all my pitches.”