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The New York Mets’ Jose Reyes (7) celebrates with on-deck batter Ike Davis after scoring on David Wright’s third-inning sacrifice fly against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field in New York on Monday.
AP PHOTO
NEW YORK — Troy Tulowitzki homered and drove in three runs, Carlos Gonzalez also had three RBIs and the Colorado Rockies took advantage of a struggling New York Mets bullpen in a 7-6 victory Monday night.
Tulowitzki made a terrific jump throw from shortstop to preserve a seventh-inning tie and Seth Smith reached base four times, including on a triple and a double. The Rockies improved to 7-2, with the only two losses coming in extra innings, to match the best nine-game start in franchise history.
Jason Hammel pitched six respectable innings and Colorado took the opener of a four-game series, winning its third straight road game. The Rockies are 4-1 away from Coors Field after going 31-50 on the road last year.
The NL West leaders even found a way to win in New York. They are 5-23 on the road against the Mets since 2003, dropping eight consecutive series.
David Wright hit his second homer and Willie Harris had a two-run double for New York, which has lost four of five following a three-game winning streak. Jose Reyes tripled twice for the fifth time in his career.
Trailing by three, the Mets mounted a rally in the eighth. Wright led off with a homer against Rafael Betancourt and Carlos Beltran doubled. A run-scoring single by Ike Davis cut it to 7-6, but Betancourt retired the next three batters.
Huston Street worked a perfect ninth for his fifth save in five chances. Matt Belisle (2-0) got the final two outs in the seventh, with some help from Tulowitzki.
Reyes tripled with two outs and Daniel Murphy hit a grounder toward the hole at shortstop. Tulowitzki, a Gold Glove winner last year, fielded the ball on his backhand and jumped, twisting his body in the air to make a strong, accurate throw to first for the third out.
Dexter Fowler singled off Bobby Parnell (0-1) to open the eighth and moved to third on a sacrifice and a wild pitch. Gonzalez hit a comebacker and Parnell had a good chance to get Fowler at the plate, but he threw over the head of catcher Josh Thole.
Gonzalez was credited with an RBI on the fielder’s choice and he went to second on the error. Tulowitzki followed with a loud shot to left for his fourth homer and a 7-4 lead.
It was the second time in the game that a Mets reliever threw high to home plate on a key play.
Cubs 5, Astros 4
HOUSTON — Chicago jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held on for the victory.
Ryan Dempster picked up the win, going 6 1/3 innings.
Rays 16, Red Sox 5
BOSTON — Sam Fuld went 4 for 6 with a two-run homer, drove in three runs and fell a single shy of the cycle to help the Tampa Bay Rays bust out of an early season slump with a 16-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night.
Johnny Damon had three hits, including a solo homer, and three RBIs, and John Jaso and Reid Brignac also drove in three runs apiece for the Rays.
Tampa Bay came in hitting a major-league worst .163 and had scored just 20 total runs, the fewest after nine games since the 2003 Detroit Tigers — a team that finished 43-119.
Boston’s loss came in Carl Crawford’s first game against his former team. Jacoby Ellsbury hit a solo homer for the Red Sox.
Crawford, who spent 12 years in the Rays’ organization, went 2 for 5, raising his average to .163.
Rangers 2, Tigers 0
DETROIT — Alexi Ogando outpitched Justin Verlander before leaving with a finger problem and the Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers to match the best 10-game start in team history.
Michael Young and Mitch Moreland hit RBI doubles in the seventh inning as the AL champions improved to 9-1, the top record in the majors. Texas equaled the start of its 1989 club.
Ogando (2-0) gave up just two hits, walked one and struck four over seven innings in his second start in the majors. The converted reliever had his outing cut short by fluid under a callus on his right index finger — he pitched six scoreless innings last week with a developing blister on the same finger.
Verlander (1-1) lost despite pitching a six-hitter.
Athletics 2, White Sox 1
CHICAGO — Kurt Suzuki hit a go-ahead home run in the 10th inning, and the Oakland Athletics capitalized on Juan Pierre’s dropped fly ball in the ninth to rally to a victory over the Chicago White Sox.
The White Sox wasted a dominant pitching performance by Mark Buehrle with their second ninth-inning implosion of the season. Buehrle was lifted after eight scoreless innings and 99 pitches. He allowed only three baserunners — none past first base.
Matt Thorton, who already had two blown saves in two opportunities, came on and allowed a leadoff double to Andy LaRoche in the ninth. One out later, Daric Barton hit a deep fly that Pierre dropped in the left-field corner, allowing pinch-runner Cliff Pennington to easily score from second and tie the game 1-1.