Red Hot Mets Pound Twins in Chilly Minny

METS 16, Twins 5

A spring snow storm blazing through Minnesota was not enough to deter the red hot bats of the New York Mets as New York pounded the Twins 16-5 on a frigid night that was better set for a Vikings football game than a baseball game.

Right out of the gate, the Mets offense was on fire, as they tattooed former Phillies pitcher Vance Worley for five runs in the first inning.

Jordany Valdespin led off the game with a single; Daniel Murphy then doubled, and David Wright drove both runners in with a double of his own to center field.

But that was not all. Ike Davis walked, and John Buck grounded into a fielders choice after an error by third baseman Trevor Ploufee allowed Wright to score to make it 3-0 Mets. It took six batters before Worley even got an out in this inning when he struck out Lucas Duda, and even with that, it was not enough to stop the bleeding. Marlon Byrd's two run double into the gap put New York up fat 5-0.

After Minnesota scratched out a couple of runs in the bottom of the first inning, the top of the Mets order once again exploded in the top of the second scratching out five more runs before an out was recorded in the inning.

Like they did in the first, Valdespin and Murphy led off the inning with singles, setting up the table for Wright, who drove in Valdespin with an RBI single to right. After Worley was removed when he loaded the bases with a walk to Davis, John Buck destroyed a pitch from reliever Pedro Hernandez, knocking it over the left field wall for a grand slam to give the Mets a 10-2 lead.

Worley was charged with nine runs and seven earned.

The homer was the fifth straight game in which Buck had homered. He has six bombs on the season, and 19 RBI, which broke a club record for RBI in the first 10 games of a Mets' season.

Even though Minnesota chipped away at the Mets lead, it never felt as if this game was going to become competitive. The Mets had the Twins right where they wanted them  all night long.

New York put the exclamation point on the night in the seventh inning, when Murphy cleared the bases with a three-run double to right center to expand the Mets lead to 13-5. Murphy would come in to score on a triple by Wright.

The top of the Mets order was unbelievable. Valdespin went 2-for-5 with three runs scored; Murphy went 4-for-5 with four RBI; Wright was a homer away from hitting for the cycle, he went 3-for-5 with four RBI, and John Buck, of course, had a grand slam.

Jon Niese, while he wasn't spectacular got the victory to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Bad news for the Twins who struggled on Friday, they have to face Mets ace Matt Harvey on Saturday afternoon.

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