NEW YORK — Carlos Beltran and the New York Mets made Mike Pelfrey’s job easy with a sudden power surge at expansive Citi Field.
Beltran and David Wright each hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and New York beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-5 on Thursday night for its fourth consecutive victory.
Jose Reyes added a solo shot in the second off an ineffective Jamie Moyer as the Mets again gave Pelfrey the offensive aid Johan Santana has lacked all season.
“He doesn’t need the run support,” Pelfrey said with a smile. “Hopefully, they keep it up. It’s a lot easier to pitch with the cushion.”
Pelfrey (4-0) beat the rival Phillies for the second time this month, his only wins in 10 May decisions during his career. Ramon Castro had a two-run double, Wright went 3 for 3 with a walk and the Mets made Moyer look his age by turning their spacious new ballpark into a band box for one night.
Still, manager Jerry Manuel was infuriated with first-base umpire Bill Welke all evening. Manuel came out to argue three times with Welke — twice over calls that appeared as though they should have gone New York’s way.
Manuel finally was ejected by Welke in the eighth following an obstruction call on Reyes that let Shane Victorino slip out of a rundown. Welke said Manuel “brushed” his hat with the bill of his own cap as he screamed in the umpire’s face.
“We’ll have to report on that,” said crew chief Tim Welke, Bill’s brother.
Later in the inning, Jayson Werth hit a two-run homer off Pedro Feliciano to cut it to 7-5.
Francisco Rodriguez saved his fourth game in four days, getting three outs to improve to 9 for 9 this season. With a runner on, he retired Jimmy Rollins on a popup to end it.
“You knew they got a guy who’s a great closer,” Victorino said. “But it doesn’t change our approach. We feel we can come back against anybody.”
Werth had four hits and Ryan Howard drove a solo homer over the 415-foot sign in right-center for the Phillies, swept in the two-game series during their first visit to Citi Field. Santana beat them 1-0 on Wednesday night.
Howard also had an RBI double in the first before the Mets roughed up Moyer (3-2), who was trying for his 250th win.
Manuel stacked eight right-handed hitters against the 46-year-old lefty and they jumped all over his soft tosses from the start. Beltran hit his third homer in four games, Carlos Delgado followed with a double and Wright drove a 1-2 pitch over the center-field fence.
“I think David is turning the corner,” Manuel said. “When you hit a ball out of center field in this park, it means you’re doing a lot of things right.”
It was only the second homer hit between the power alleys in 14 games at Citi Field. Howard’s sixth-inning shot made it three.
“I think this ballpark, you know it’s big. But if you hit it good, it’s going to go out. You can’t let the high fences intimidate you,” Beltran said.
Beltran and Wright also teamed up for two-run homers in the sixth inning of Monday night’s 6-4 win at Atlanta.
Castro’s two-run double off the base of the center-field fence made it 7-1, chasing Moyer with one out in the third.
“I didn’t like the way I threw tonight,” Moyer said. “I’ll probably go back and look at something from two or three years ago. Something positive.”
The Mets (14-13) have scored 36 runs in Pelfrey’s five starts, 24 more than they’ve managed in Santana’s six outings.
“Baseball is crazy,” Reyes said, laughing.
Pelfrey yielded three runs and eight hits in seven innings, without a strikeout for the second straight outing. The Mets are yet to have a starter pitch into the eighth this year.
“I still think there’s another gear left in the big fella,” Manuel said. “I still think his off-speed stuff is a little bit away.”<
Notes: It was Manuel’s first ejection this season. … Victorino extended his hitting streak to a career-best 16 games.
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