Diamondbacks 6, Mets 3
PHOENIX -- Arizona catcher Miguel Montero hit a two-run home run and Ian Kennedy won his third consecutive start while pitching around three homers by New York Mets first baseman Ike Davis in the Diamondbacks' 6-3 victory Saturday.
Montero's two-run homer in a three-run fourth inning gave Arizona a 6-2 lead and helped Kennedy improve to 21-6 in his career after the All-Star break.
Davis hit bases-empty homers for the Mets in the second, fourth and sixth innings, giving him a career-high 20 homers for the season. The first two hit off the batter's eye in center field and the third landed in the Mets' bullpen down the right-field line. He singled in his final at-bat in the eighth inning.
Davis, who went to high school in suburban Scottsdale, Ariz., tied his career high with four hits and became the fourth Met to hit three homers in a game. He was attempting to become the 15th player in the modern era to hit four homers in a game.
The D-backs (51-50) have won seven of the first nine games on a 10-game home stand, closing to within 4 1/2 games of NL West leader San Francisco.
The Mets (48-52) have lost eight of nine and are 2-13 since the All-star break.
Gerardo Parra had three singles and drove in two runs for Arizona. Montero and rookie Ryan Wheeler scored twice.
Davis was 4-for-4, but the rest of the Mets were 5-for-33. The Mets had the tying run at the plate in the eighth and ninth innings but could not score. J.J. Putz had his 19th save.
Kennedy struck out nine in 6 1/3 innings and, at 9-8, is above .500 for the first time since May 8. Mets starter Chris Young (2-5) gave up seven hits and six runs in four innings.
Aaron Hill doubled in Parra in the first inning before Davis tied the game with his first homer.
In the second inning, Wheeler doubled in Montero, who had walked, and Parra's two-out single made it 3-1. Wheeler, who led the minor leagues with 90 RBI when he was promoted from Class AAA Reno on July 20, had his first extra-base hit.
Davis brought the Mets within one run with his homer in the fourth, but the D-backs responded with Montero's two-run homer and Parra's run-scoring single for a 6-2 lead.
NOTES: Mets 3B David Wright hit his 199th home run Friday and, with his next homer, will join Darryl Strawberry (252) and Mike Piazza (220) as the only players to hit 200 homers in a Mets uniform. Wright is in his ninth season with the Mets. ... The Diamondbacks presented fans with a creative Justin Upton bobblehead doll Saturday, recreating Upton's broken-bat home run in a 1-0 victory over Pittsburgh on Sept. 19, 2011. The Upton bobblehead has the end of the bat in his hand, with the barrel lying by his feet. Upton is 3-for-12 with one homer and two RBI on his three bobblehead nights. ... Arizona center fielder Chris Young was given the day off against his namesake, Mets right-hander Chris Young. The Diamondbacks' Young is 0-for-16 with eight strikeouts and three walks in the career matchup. ... The Mets are the only team in the majors to have two players with at least 30 doubles, second baseman Daniel Murphy (31) and Wright (30).
