NEW YORK – Light-hitting rookie Ruben Tejada laced a two-run double in the ninth inning off closer John Axford, rallying the New York Mets to a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night.
David Wright had a two-run homer and the Mets opened their final homestand of the season with their third consecutive win.
Corey Hart homered for Milwaukee and Randy Wolf pitched seven strong innings. Lorenzo Cain hit an RBI double.
Axford (8-2) struck out Wright to escape an eighth-inning jam, but Ike Davis opened the ninth with a double off the base of the right-center fence. Josh Thole blooped a one-out single that put runners at the corners and Tejada drove the next pitch up the left-center alley for his third hit, and second double, of the game.
Pinch-runner Luis Castillo scored from first and the Mets rushed toward second base to mob Tejada, who raised his batting average from .199 to .210.
Elmer Dessens (4-2) worked a perfect ninth inning for the win.
New York center fielder Carlos Beltran was removed in the sixth because of discomfort in his right knee, the same one that was operated on in January, forcing him to miss the first half of the season.
One night after the teams were rained out, they played without interruption following a dreary afternoon that included tornado warnings in the area.
With the score tied at 2, late substitute Joe Inglett hit a leadoff double in the eighth against Mets starter Mike Pelfrey and advanced to third on Hart's groundout to the right side.
Pedro Feliciano entered to face slugger Prince Fielder, who chopped an RBI grounder to shortstop against a drawn-in infield that left Jose Reyes with only one play, at first base.
The husky Fielder also made a dynamic, diving grab of Pelfrey's foul bunt in the third. Mets catcher Josh Thole made a similar play on Wolf's foul bunt in the fifth.
Wolf allowed four hits and struck out four, shutting down the Mets yet again. He is 12-5 in 32 starts against New York, including 6-0 in his past 10.
The left-hander nearly became the first starting pitcher to beat the Mets for five teams. He's done it with Philadelphia, San Diego, Houston and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lucas Duda entered to play left in the sixth and bat in Beltran's No. 3 spot, with Jesus Feliciano shifting from right to center and Nick Evans going from left to right.
Duda fisted a soft single over second baseman Rickie Weeks with two outs in the sixth and Wright followed with his 27th homer, tying it at 2.
Casey McGehee drew a two-out walk in the fourth and scored easily from first when Cain doubled to deep left-center. Hart homered to center on Pelfrey's first pitch in the sixth, his 31st of the season.
Feliciano kept the game scoreless in the third, throwing out George Kottaras at the plate on Inglett's two-out single to right.
The teams will play a twi-night doubleheader Wednesday beginning at 4:10 p.m.
NOTES: Brewers LF Ryan Braun was scratched minutes before the first pitch because of a stomach virus. He was replaced by Inglett, who batted second. Hart dropped from the second spot to No. 3. ... Milwaukee 3B prospect Mat Gamel will have season-ending surgery Wednesday on his left big toe. ... Mets OF Angel Pagan was not with the team because his daughter was scheduled to have eye surgery early Wednesday. Pagan is expected back for Wednesday's doubleheader. ... It was Pedro Feliciano's 89th appearance, breaking his own club record set last season. ... New York pitching coach Dan Warthen left the club to attend his brother's funeral in Florida. He is expected back Thursday.
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