MLB

Mets make buy/sell decision tough, beat up on Phillies

Bartolo Colon says he would like to stay with the Mets, but he put on an excellent audition for the playoff contenders who were at Citi Field Monday night.

The right-hander tossed his second straight gem, pitching into the eighth inning in the Mets 7-1 win over the lifeless Phillies at Citi Field.

The Mets have now won five of seven, but a serious run at the postseason remains far off.

And while general manager Sandy Alderson downplayed the possibility of a significant move before Thursday’s non-waiver trade deadline, Colon admitted he wasn’t sure what his future holds.

“I know there’s talk about it because it’s everywhere, but I don’t really pay attention to anything anyone is saying.” Colon said through a translator after giving up just one run over 7 ²/₃ innings. “Whatever they choose to do with me … I accept it.”

But he made clear he would prefer to remain in Queens.

“I’m happy here,” said Colon, who improved to 10-8. “I would like to stay here, but it’s really not up to me.”

With the win, the Mets improved to 51-55, but still need to leapfrog five teams for the second NL wild-card spot. The Phillies, who have turned into quite the train wreck this season, could help the Mets get even closer to .500.

“The big picture, it’s real simple: We’ve got to play good, no matter what we are,” manager Terry Collins said. “The record takes care of itself if you play good. Once you get to .500, it doesn’t mean everything’s golden. You’ve got to continue to play well. It starts with the guys on the mound.”

For a change on Monday, though, the lineup did its part.

The hitters smacked Philadelphia starter A.J. Burnett (6-10) around for seven runs in five innings, including four in the first.

Juan Lagares, who brought a 17 at-bat hitless streak into the game, broke out of it with a two-run double.

“He’s been struggling and it was good for him to get a big hit,” Collins said. “Maybe that will raise his confidence because we need him to do what he did early in the first half.”

In the fifth, the Mets gave Colon even more of a cushion with Travis d’Arnaud’s three-run homer.

All three of d’Arnaud’s hits went for extra bases and the Mets broke a string of nine consecutive games in which they hadn’t scored more than three runs.

But the best story for the Mets took place on the mound again.

Colon surrendered 10 hits, but didn’t give up a run until the Phillies collected back-to-back doubles to chase the 41-year-old in the eighth.

So if Colon is distracted by the trade rumors, he isn’t letting it affect him.

He admitted he did pay attention to rumors earlier in his career.

“That’s when I learned this was a business,” Colon said. “After that, I quit paying attention.”

Collins also hopes Colon sticks around and spoke glowingly of the pitcher after the 121-pitch performance, which tied a season-high.

“This guy is down to earth,” Collins said. “He is calm. He is not rattled by anything. He’s an inning-eating machine. He doesn’t change his plan. He knows what he’s doing.”

He just can’t be sure where he’ll be doing it.