Luzardo backed by homers from Schwarber and Sosa as Phillies beat struggling Mets 7-1

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Kyle Schwarber and Edmundo Sosa homered, Jesús Luzardo tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings and the Philadelphia Phillies regained sole possession of first place in the NL East with a 7-1 victory over the slumping New York Mets on Sunday night.

Nick Castellanos added two doubles and an RBI for the Phillies, who have won nine of 11 after taking two of three games in the series against their division rivals. Philadelphia (47-31) moved one game ahead of New York in the standings.

Francisco Lindor homered late for the Mets, who have lost eight of nine.

Luzardo (7-3) allowed three hits with seven strikeouts and a walk.

The Phillies did their damage against David Peterson (5-3) in the fourth when they scored five runs. Schwarber led off with his 24th homer, a drive off the batter’s eye in center field. After an RBI single by Otto Kemp made it 2-0, Sosa hit a three-run shot on an 84 mph slider into Philadelphia’s bullpen in right-center.

Sosa also singled and doubled.

Peterson didn’t come out for the fifth after needing 72 pitches to get through four innings.

Schwarber’s homer on a 1-2 cutter to start the fourth changed the game. Peterson had cruised through three innings, allowing only Sosa’s infield single. Philadelphia sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning, getting five hits and drawing two walks.

Lindor went deep for the second consecutive night – but a long streak came to an end. New York had won 28 straight games in which Lindor homered, one shy of the major league record. The Brooklyn Dodgers won 29 games in a row when Carl Furillo connected from 1951-53.

Mets: RHP Paul Blackburn (0-1, 6.92 ERA) starts Monday night at home against Atlanta in the opener of a four-game series. RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (5-4, 3.26) pitches for the Braves.

Phillies: After an off day, Philadelphia begins a three-game series at Houston on Tuesday night. LHP Ranger Suárez (6-1, 2.20 ERA) is scheduled to face Astros LHP Framber Valdez (8-4, 3.09).