Bartolo Colon tossed five-hit ball and struck out eight in seven sharp innings, Michael Cuddyer hit a long homer and the NL East-leading New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-4 on Wednesday night.
Colon (11-11) bounced back from a rough outing in Colorado, helping the Mets improve to 18-6 since July 31. They took a 6 1-2 game lead over second-place Washington, which lost 6-5 to San Diego.
Cuddyer had an RBI double in the first inning off Jerad Eickhoff (1-1) and hit a two-run shot into the second deck in left field off Hector Neris in the eighth.
The Mets have dominated the Phillies, winning eight straight, 11 of 12 this season and 23 of the last 28 meetings. They will go for a four-game sweep Thursday night with plenty of visiting fans chanting "Let's Go Mets!" in Philadelphia's cozy ballpark.
