MILWAUKEE (AP) — Corey Hart hit a grand slam and a two-run homer in his first two times up to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to an 8-6 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday night.
Hart's homers in the first and third gave him 12 for the season, tying his total from last year, and three in three consecutive plate appearances. He belted the first game-winning homer of his career Friday night to snapped New York's five-game winning streak.
George Kottaras also went deep for the Brewers, who have won four of their last five at home after a 4-14 start at Miller Park.
Ike Davis hit a three-run shot for New York, but the Mets dropped to 6-16 away from Citi Field with a 3-12 mark in this month.
All 14 runs were scored in the first four innings, but Todd Coffey (2-1) came for Milwaukee in with the bases loaded in the fifth and went on to retire seven straight batters after being forced to use a different glove from his light tan version. Carlos Villanueva pitched a perfect eighth and John Axford — not all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman — pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save.
The three relievers combined to retire the last 13 batters.
Hart struggled mightily in the spring and temporarily lost his starting job to begin the season. That's long forgotten now after nine homers and 19 RBIs in his last 14 games.
Mets starter Fernando Nieve (1-3) got two outs to start the first before loading the bases on Ryan Braun's double and two walks. Hart hit a breaking ball that didn't move much over the Brewers bullpen on nearly the same path of his Friday night homer for his first grand slam.
Kottaras added a solo shot in the second and Hart came out for a curtain call after his two-run homer off Oliver Perez in the third made it 7-3.
Davis answered the next inning against reliever Marco Estrada to make it 7-6, but Rickie Weeks tripled to start the fourth and scored on a double-play grounder by Braun.
A night after Johan Santana and Yovani Gallardo shut down hitters until the Mets bullpen blew the team's streak of 35 consecutive scoreless innings in the bottom of the ninth, the hitters got their revenge against spot starters.
Nieve lasted two innings in his first start of the season, giving up five runs and Perez allowed three more. Brewers starter Manny Parra gave up three runs in three innings and Estrada was tagged for three more.
The Mets scored a run in each of the first three innings off Jason Bay's ground-rule double in the first, Jose Reyes' two-out single in the second and Rod Barajas' RBI groundout in the third.
The game was delayed several minutes after Coffey entered while home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg looked at his glove, which was close to the cream color of the Negro League throwback uniforms the Brewers wore.
NOTES: Hart became the fifth Brewer in franchise history to hit three homers in three straight plate appearances. ... Mets LHP Jonathon Niese (right hamstring) threw 35 pitches in a Saturday bullpen session and will start in Triple-A Buffalo on Monday. ... Both teams wore Negro League throwback uniforms representing the Milwaukee Bears (1923) and the New York Cubans (1935-36, 1939-50). ... The Brewers purchased the contract of LHP Chris Capuano and designated RHP Claudio Vargas for assignment. ... Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (1-0, 1.50 ERA) will face LHP Randy Wolf (4-4, 4.52) in Sunday's finale.
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