Francisco Lindor hit two homers while David Peterson continued his strong season by tossing 5 2/3 solid innings and earning the win Friday night, when the host New York Mets beat the reeling Colorado Rockies 4-2 in the opener of a three-game series.
Starling Marte also homered while the slumping Juan Soto went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Mets, who have won six of eight.
Ryan McMahon laced an RBI double and Sam Hilliard hit a pinch-hit homer in his first big league at-bat of the season for the Rockies, who lost their sixth straight to drop to 9-48 — the worst 57-game start in modern baseball history.
Lindor, who entered the game with just eight hits in his last 51 at-bats dating back to May 14, hit a leadoff homer while batting right-handed against left-hander Kyle Freeland (0-8) and provided insurance with a round-tripper from the left side against right-hander Seth Halvorsen to open the eighth.
The leadoff homer was the fifth of the season for Lindor while the two-homer game was his second of the season and the 21st of his career.
Lindor also singled in the third and scored on Soto’s two-out double. The hit snapped an 0-for-17 skid for Soto dating back to Sunday night.
Peterson (4-2) allowed one run on five hits and one walk while striking out five over 5 2/3 innings. The left-hander, who was raised in Colorado, has allowed three runs or fewer in 10 of his 11 starts this season
Peterson wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the second by retiring Thairo Estrada on a liner to a leaping Lindor at shortstop. That began a stretch of nine consecutive batters retired by Peterson, who exited after plunking Estrada, surrendering a single to Brenton Doyle and giving up McMahon’s double in a three-pitch span.
Huascar Brazoban gave up one hit — Hilliard’s homer — over 1 1/3 innings before Reed Garrett threw a perfect eighth. Edwin Diaz struck out all three batters in the ninth to earn his 12th save.
Doyle had two hits for the Rockies.
Freeland gave up three runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out four over six innings.
–Field Level Media
