On a dramatic afternoon filled with the termination of a team executive and an uncomfortable confrontation between general manager Omar Minaya and a local beat writer, the Mets got something to smile about: a feel-good win over Colorado.
Something else to smile about? The win makes it three in a row for New York, which had been mired in a 2-6 slump since the end of the All-Star break.
Pinch-hitter Fernando Tatis led the offense with a late grand slam, while Oliver Perez's five-inning start kept New York in the game long enough to get the win. He allowed three runs on five hits while striking out five, earning a no-decision.
Brian Stokes submitted two innings of shut-out relief, and Pedro Feliciano earned the win after pitching a scoreless eighth that featured two strikeouts. Francisco Rodriguez threw a perfect ninth to seal the win.
Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez was solid through seven innings — he allowed three runs on six hits and struck out four — but Juan Rincon took the loss after allowing three runs in 1/3 of an inning to blow the game.
Troy Tulowitzki's two-run shot got the Rockies on the board in the top of the second, and Jeff Francoeur got New York back in the game with a solo shot in the fourth. Colorado's Clint Barmes responded with a solo shot of his own in the top of the fifth before the Mets scored two unanswered runs — one on a Daniel Murphy single and another on a sacrifice fly by Cory Sullivan — to knot the score at three in the sixth.
Tatis' pinch-hit grand slam off Franklin Morales put the game away in the bottom of the eighth.
