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Niese, Mets stifle Phillies

Apr 30, 2014 - 5:53 AM Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Ruben Tejada went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored, Jon Niese spun seven stellar innings of one-run ball, and the New York Mets downed the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1 on Tuesday in the opener of a brief two-game series.

Daniel Murphy recorded three hits, an RBI and a run scored, while Chris Young knocked in a run and scored twice in support of Niese (2-2), who struck out five and scattered four hits with a walk over his solid start.

"He did a tremendous job the way he handled the inclement weather," Mets manager Terry Collins said of Niese's performance. "Not just the cold, the wet, the soft mounds. He wound up pitching another great game."

Niese helped his own cause with a bases-loaded walk in the fourth, as the Mets secured their second straight victory and fifth in their last six games.

Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels (0-2) had a forgettable outing, surrendering six runs on eight hits with five walks in just 4 2/3 frames. Hamels, who was making his first start of the season at Citizens Bank Park after starting the campaign on the disabled list, threw just 55 of his 106 pitches for strikes.

"I feel truly embarrassed," said Hamels. "I didn't really give anyone a chance. Balls weren't being put in play because I wasn't allowing them to put it in play. It's an embarrassment because I'm not allowing my teammates to get in the game."

Marlon Byrd belted a homer to account for the lone run for the Phillies, who had a two-game win streak halted.

The Mets scored against Hamels early and often, plating one run in the third, two in the fourth and three more in the fifth to create a comfortable lead.

Tejada opened the third with a double, moved to third on Niese's bunt and scored two batters later on Murphy's single to right to make it 1-0.

Hamels' control issues surfaced in the fourth, as the Phillies southpaw walked Young and Curtis Granderson before Josh Satin smacked a single to center to score Young for a 2-0 lead.

After striking out Travis d'Arnaud, Hamels walked Tejada to load the bases and then issued another free pass -- his fourth of the inning -- to Niese, allowing Granderson to trot home for a 3-0 edge.

Byrd's two-out blast in the bottom of the frame got the home team on the board, but Murphy opened the fifth with a single and then stole second before scoring on Young's double to center.

After grounding out Granderson, Hamels plunked Satin and walked d'Arnaud to load the bases for Tejada, who sliced a single into shallow center field to score Young and Satin for a 6-1 lead.

Niese held the Phillies to two singles over the next three frames before Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jose Valverde each fired a scoreless inning in relief to nail down the victory.

Game Notes

Murphy extended his hit streak to 10 games and stole second base in the fifth inning for his 28th consecutive stolen base ... The start of the game was delayed 1 hour, 28 minutes due to rain ... Phillies center fielder Ben Revere went 0-for-4 but stole his 10th base of the season in the setback.