PHILADELPHIA _ Timely hits had eluded the Mets before a very familiar southpaw took the mound for the Phillies and lent a hand to his ex-team.
The Mets overwhelmed former teammate Jason Vargas in a 6-3 win against the Phillies on Saturday and found ways to disrupt his rhythm all afternoon. It was the first time the Mets faced Vargas since GM Brodie Van Wagenen dealt the left-hander to their division rival at the trade deadline.
The Mets gained one game in the National League wild-card standings with the win because the Cubs lost 2-0 to the Brewers. The Mets finished Saturday four games behind the last NL wild-card spot and improved to 69-66 on the season following a five-plus inning start from Steven Matz.
Wilson Ramos extended his hitting streak to 24 consecutive games with an RBI single to center that scored Amed Rosario in the first inning. The Mets were able to put at least two batters on base against Vargas in every inning except the fourth. Ramos went 4 for 5 with an RBI and two runs scored while the Mets offense amassed 13 hits and went 6 for 20 with runners in scoring position.
The Mets knocked Vargas out in the fifth inning after all of his first four batters reached base to start the frame. Todd Frazier picked up where he left off in Friday night's win, when he slammed a pair of three-run homers to break out of a slump. On Saturday, Frazier drove an RBI double and Joe Panik ripped a two-run double before Phillies manager Gabe Kapler had seen enough from Vargas.
Matz cruised through the Phillies' lineup with minimal speed bumps before the wheels came off in the sixth inning. He had retired 13 of his last 16 batters faced until Bryce Harper smoked a 417-foot solo home run off Matz to leadoff the inning. Two more batters reached base before pitching coach Phil Regan ambled out of the dugout in an attempt to calm Matz down.
Whatever words were exchanged didn't work. Matz gave up another single to depart from his outing with the bases loaded and nobody out for Luis Avilan to try and salvage the inning. Frazier helped Avilan out by leaping to grab a liner, then the southpaw walked in a run before inducing an inning-ending double play. It was an impressive effort from Avilan to limit the damage.
Matz finished his 25th start of the season having allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts over 91 pitches. The Mets bullpen held the Phillies to four scoreless innings, capped off by a two-inning outing from Seth Lugo that featured four strikeouts in the eighth and ninth.
