The Mets might need to move back the fences in their bandbox ballpark.
Lucas Duda and David Wright sure made Citi Field resemble an East Coast version of the Friendly Confines with monstrous home runs Friday night to offer a glimpse of what was largely missing from this Mets lineup over the first 2 ½ months of the season.
With Duda and Wright each going very deep, the Mets rolled to a 7-1 victory over the Marlins.
Duda’s blast into the Pepsi Porch in right field in the third inning and Wright’s shot that reached the left-field mezzanine in the fifth highlighted a 12-hit attack for the Mets and helped Zack Wheeler get a second straight win.
The Mets have homered in 10 of their last 11 games at Citi Field, perhaps dispelling the notion the ballpark is a graveyard for the home team’s hitters.
“I’ve said all along, and it seems kind of dumb, but I think it’s true: The weather has warmed up,” Wright said. “The ball carries better here when the weather is warm.”
Wright finished 4-for-4 with two RBIs on a night his team bludgeoned nemesis Henderson Alvarez, who had a 20-inning scoreless streak against the Mets snapped when he allowed two runs in the second. In his previous five starts against the Mets, Alvarez had allowed a total of four runs.
Alvarez (6-4) was tagged for a season-high six earned runs on eight hits, including the two homers, over five innings.
“He’s tough,” Duda said. “He just left a few balls up and we were able to put the barrel on it.”
Wheeler (5-8) threw 114 pitches over 6 ²/₃ innings in which he surrendered one earned run on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.11 ERA in five career starts against the Marlins.
The Mets made a big defensive play in the fourth, when Ruben Tejada took a relay throw from Kirk Nieuwenhuis and fired a strike to the plate to nail Donovan Solano, attempting to score from first on Casey McGehee’s double.
Wright’s two-run homer in the fifth extended the Mets’ lead to 6-1 against Alvarez. Daniel Murphy singled in the inning before Wright connected for the Mets’ 25th homer in their last 23 games.
“This guy is the kind of guy who can carry you if he gets hot, and we need him to get hot as we head into the second half,” manager Terry Collins said. “With the way the rest of the guys are starting to swing, his presence in the lineup swinging good is real important for us.”
Before Wright’s blast, Christian Yelich’s RBI single in the fifth had sliced the Mets’ lead to 4-1.
Duda’s two-run rocket in the third inning extended the Mets’ lead to 4-0. After Wright singled with one out, Duda unloaded for his 14th home run, which tied him with Curtis Granderson for the team lead.
Wheeler’s RBI double was the Mets’ big hit in the second, when they launched a two-out rally to score twice. Juan Lagares’ double and Tejada’s RBI single accounted for the first run before Wheeler connected for his second hit of the season.
The Mets (43-50) have won six of eight games on the homestand and trail the Nationals and Braves by seven games in the NL East. They would like nothing better than a series victory against the Marlins before the All-Star break.
“With the way the division is, I think we’ve given ourselves some confidence, going out there and beating some good teams,” Wright said.
“It should help us confidence-wise. If we keep swinging the bats the way we are and getting the performances the way we are, both starters and bullpen, we can do some damage in the second half.”