B.J. Upton hits 2-run shot, ties career high with 4 RBIs to lead Rays to over Mets 10-6

Upton homers, drives in 4 to lead Rays past Mets

NEW YORK — B.J. Upton homered and matched a career high with four RBIs, Carl Crawford drove in a pair of runs and the Tampa Bay Rays broke out of an offensive slumber with a 10-6 victory over the New York Mets on a soggy Sunday.

Upton and Evan Longoria each had four hits for the Rays, who won for the second time in five games to take the first series between these two teams since 2001. Gabe Kapler added a pair of RBIs.

The highest-scoring team in the majors managed only three runs in each of its last four games, but got four in the fifth inning and four more in the seventh, when Upton’s two-run shot off Bobby Parnell (2-3) helped the Rays regain a lead they’d squandered an inning earlier.

Joe Nelson (2-0) won despite allowing a run for the first time in his last nine relief appearances, while the New York bullpen dropped to 1-7 in June.

Brian Schneider hit a three-run homer and streaky David Wright added three hits for the Mets, who have won only one series this month, against last-place Washington.

The Mets led 2-0 before Upton’s two-run double in the fifth, and Crawford followed with a two-run single for the fifth consecutive hit off ineffective Mets starter Mike Pelfrey, who lasted the inning before getting pulled for a pinch hitter.

Rays manager Joe Maddon also turned to his bullpen early, yanking Jeff Niemann after four innings and 78 pitches — and with good reason. Tampa Bay relievers had allowed only two runs in their last 33 1-3 innings dating to June 8.

So much for that statistic.

Wright doubled into the gap in right-center leading off the sixth, and Ryan Church drew a one-out walk. Schneider followed with his second three-run homer of the series, a liner off the overhang in right that gave New York a short-lived 5-4 lead.

The Rays have made a habit of using the long ball to get back into games, getting homers from Carlos Pena and Ben Zobrist in Saturday’s 3-1 win.

Upton provided the power this time, driving a 2-1 pitch from Parnell into the second deck in left field. Crawford followed with a single and Longoria drove him in with a double. After Pena was hit by a pitch, Gabe Kapler’s RBI double made it 8-5.

To make matters worse for Mets fans, a light sprinkle turned into a deluge that halted play for 34 minutes and sent them scurrying for the concourses — and in many cases the exits. There were plenty of empty seats when play resumed, and those fans didn’t have much more to cheer about.

The Mets added a run in the seventh but left two on base, and the Rays added a pair of runs in the eighth to help seal it.

NOTES: Plate umpire Jerry Crawford left in the second inning with lower back pain. First base umpire Scott Barry finished behind the plate. … Mets catchers have 48 RBIs, tops among NL catchers. … Rays LHP Scott Kazmir (right quad strain) plans to throw 85 pitches in a rehab start for Triple-A Durham on Monday. … Mets starters John Maine (right shoulder weakness) and Oliver Perez (patella tendinitis) each plan to start in a doubleheader Monday for Class A St. Lucie.