Jay Bruce homered twice, including the tiebreaking shot in a testy eighth inning to lead the New York Mets over the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 on Monday night.
Recently bumped up to the cleanup spot, Bruce put the Mets in front 4-2 with a towering, two-run drive off his own digital image on the videoboard in right field. He connected on a 1-2 pitch from left-hander Joely Rodriguez, giving Bruce four homers this season and three in the past two days after many expected New York to trade him last winter.
Tempers flared two batters earlier when Phillies reliever Edubray Ramos threw a first-pitch fastball over Asdrubal Cabrera's head - perhaps seeking revenge for Cabrera's two-handed bat flip after hitting a game-winning homer against Ramos last Sept. 22 as the Mets were chasing a playoff berth.
Cabrera was restrained by Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp, and players from both teams came to the top step of the dugout. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin was ejected by plate umpire Allan Porter, apparently for questioning Porter's warning to both sides following the pitch.
Ramos (0-1) eventually walked Cabrera and then struck out Yoenis Cespedes before being lifted for Rodriguez with two outs.
Addison Reed allowed Brock Stassi's solo homer in the ninth but recovered to earn his second save. Stassi's drive to right-center was his first major league hit.
Jerry Blevins (1-0) got two outs for the Mets, aided by a fine defensive play from catcher Travis d'Arnaud and Cabrera at shortstop.
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New York played its first road game after going 3-3 on a season-opening homestand.
Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff yielded two runs on three hits with seven strikeouts and four walks in seven strong innings.
Michael Saunders had two hits and an RBI for Philadelphia. Saunders' RBI single and Rupp's bases-loaded walk put the Phillies ahead 2-0 in the first against Jacob deGrom.
Bruce's solo shot to right in the fourth pulled the Mets to 2-1, giving New York a homer in six straight games.
The Mets took advantage of some shaky Philadelphia fielding in the seventh to tie the game. The Phillies entered one of two teams in the majors without an error this season, but they committed two in the seventh. Bruce drew a leadoff walk and went to third on second baseman Cesar Hernandez's throwing error on Curtis Granderson's infield single. Bruce then scored on Neil Walker's sacrifice fly.
New York leadoff man Jose Reyes went 0 for 4, dropping to 1 for 27 (.037) this season.
In his second start since undergoing elbow surgery last September, deGrom settled down to pitch six solid innings. He gave up two runs and six hits with two walks and three strikeouts, including the 500th of his career when he fanned Saunders in the sixth.
ROSE HONORED
Pete Rose will be inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in an on-field ceremony Aug. 12 prior to the club's game against the Mets. Rose, the all-time hits leader who was banned from baseball in 1989, made four All-Star appearances and helped the Phillies to one of their two World Series championships during his five seasons in Philadelphia from 1979-83. Rose was selected through fan voting and becomes the 39th member of the team's Wall of Fame.
UP NEXT
Mets: RHP Matt Harvey (1-0, 2.70 ERA) makes his second start of the season in the second game of the three-game series Tuesday night. Harvey has had success in April throughout his career, going 11-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 16 starts.
Phillies: RHP Clay Buchholz makes his second start for Philadelphia. The former Boston pitcher allowed four runs and eight hits in five innings during his Phillies debut, a 7-4 loss Thursday at Cincinnati.
