3 min read

CHICAGO (AP) – Cliff Floyd and Carlos Beltran hit grand slams, and David Wright added a two-run shot in a team-record 11-run sixth inning as the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 13-7 Sunday night.

New York sent 16 batters to the plate in the sixth and benefited from two errors on second baseman Todd Walker that led to eight of the 11 runs being unearned. The half-inning, on a muggy 95-degree night at Wrigley Field, took 41 minutes to play and saw the Cubs make 70 pitches.

The Mets’ outburst marked the first time a team had two grand slams in an inning since April 23, 1999, when St. Louis’ Fernando Tatis hit two in the third at Los Angeles.

New York trailed 5-0 after two innings before showing why it is the highest scoring team in the National League and the one with the best record (55-37).

Floyd’s grand slam was a liner to left field off Sean Marshall (5-8) that just cleared the wall and landed in the basket above the ivy.

The Mets loaded the bases the first time when Beltran reached on Walker’s error, Carlos Delgado hit a sinking liner to center that Juan Pierre couldn’t hold for a single and Wright blooped a base hit to right.

Floyd, who had a solo homer in the fifth, then delivered his sixth career slam to give the Mets a 6-5 lead. New York added another run when Walker made his second error, dropping a throw from third baseman Aramis Ramirez, and pinch-hitter Endy Chavez had an RBI single off reliever Roberto Novoa.

Jose Valentin singled to load the bases, and after a runner was cut down at the plate on a fielder’s choice grounder, Beltran sent the Mets’ second grand slam of the inning into the seats in left-center, the fifth bases-loaded homer of his career.

After Delgado doubled, Wright hit a two-run homer to make it 13-5 and Cubs fans in the bleachers began to throw debris on the field in disgust as the grounds crew ran onto the field to clean it up.

Reliever Pedro Feliciano (3-2) worked a scoreless fifth to get the win.

Marshall (5-8) was staked to a 5-0 lead after two innings when the Cubs drove veteran Orlando Hernandez out after 1 2-3 innings, matching his shortest stint of the season. Hernandez gave up seven hits and five runs.

Marshall ended up lasting just 5 1-3 innings, giving up seven hits and seven runs – five earned. Novoa lasted one-third of an inning, allowing five hits and six runs, none earned.

Marshall had his first career homer for the Cubs, connecting off Hernandez, and pinch-hitter Phil Nevin hit a two-run shot in the seventh off Aaron Heilman.

Pierre had four of the 15 hits for the Cubs, and Michael Barrett added RBI doubles in the first and second innings to help Chicago jump to the 5-0 lead.

Chris Woodward hit a solo homer in the fourth for the Mets’ first run.

Notes: The Mets’ previous high for an inning was 10 runs against Atlanta in 2000. … It marked the first time in club history the Mets had two grand slams in the same inning. … It was the first time in club history the Cubs had given up two grand slams in the same inning, according to team historian Ed Hartig. … New York, which had 14 hits, had two grand slams this season before Sunday.

AP-ES-07-16-06 2213EDT

Comments are no longer available on this story