Wilin Rosario hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning, and the Colorado Rockies beat the New York Mets 5-2 on Wednesday night for their seventh straight victory at Citi Field.
Rosario also had a sacrifice fly, and DJ LeMahieu drove in a run with a squeeze bunt to help the last-place Rockies win their fourth in a row and eighth in 11 games. Colorado will go for a four-game sweep on Thursday, a feat the Rockies accomplished during their previous visit to Queens in April 2011.
Prized rookie Matt Harvey had another impressive outing for New York, striking out nine over six innings of three-hit ball. But the slumping Mets (57-67) lost their fourth straight and fell to 11-27 since the All-Star break, leaving them a season-worst 10 games below .500. They haven't scored more than two runs in their past five games.
With two runners on in the ninth inning, New York's Ronny Cedeno flied out to the left-field warning track to end it.
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Before the game, the Mets placed struggling ace Johan Santana on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his lower back and said he isn't expected to pitch again in 2012. Doctors recommended rest, but not surgery.
The 33-year-old Santana, who missed last season following major shoulder surgery in September 2010, went 0-5 with a 15.63 ERA in his final five starts.
Jeff Francis allowed one run and five hits in a five-inning start, though not all the news was good for the injury-ravaged Rockies. Center fielder Dexter Fowler left in the fourth inning with a sprained right ankle after twisting it while cruising into second base.
New York cut it to 3-2 in the eighth. Scott Hairston, who had a sacrifice fly in the first, hit a two-out double off winner Carlos Torres (2-1) and scored on Ike Davis' single against Matt Reynolds. Will Harris, however, struck out pinch-hitter Jordany Valdespin to preserve the lead.
Colorado added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth, aided by catcher Kelly Shoppach's throwing error and reliever Frank Francisco's balk. Chris Nelson had an RBI single, and pinch-hitter Josh Rutledge delivered a run-scoring double.
Rafael Betancourt worked a scoreless ninth for his 25th save in 30 attempts.
Rosario connected off Ramon Ramirez (2-3) leading off the seventh. The rookie catcher lofted a high fly into the left-field corner for his 20th home run to give the Rockies a 2-1 lead.
Tyler Colvin then doubled, moved up on a groundout and scored on LeMahieu's nicely executed bunt.
Torres yielded one hit in 2 2-3 innings before a sparse crowd of 22,204.
Harvey has 43 strikeouts through his first six major league games. The Mets said that broke Nolan Ryan's previous club record of 42, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau.
Harvey also went 2 for 2 with a pair of singles and is batting .455 (5 for 11) with two doubles and two RBIs.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
