Reyes, Cabrera homer, Mets top Phils 11-7 to end 4-game skid

NEW YORK -- In a season where a lot has gone wrong for the New York Mets, a jovial Jose Reyes gave his team a reason to smile on Labor Day.

The 34-year-old Reyes looked like his old self Monday when he homered, drew two walks and sped from first to third on an infield out during an 11-7 win over Philadelphia that broke a four-game skid.

Donning the crown and cape awarded by his teammates to the outstanding player of the game, Reyes then got on his phone and fired away a couple of inspirational messages to David Wright.

"It was an important win with all the bad news that we've received lately," Reyes said. "We still had to go out to do out jobs out on the field. We know what the team is going through with all the injuries this season, but we still have to keep playing hard and finish off the season strong."

On Tuesday, Wright is set to undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder. The star third baseman didn't play in the majors this year.

"David Wright is like a brother for me, being that we've played a lot of years together," Reyes said.

"He'll continue to work. He'll go through his operation. He'll rehabilitate himself. He'll try to return. I told him whatever you need, don't hesitate to communicate with me," he said.

Asdrubal Cabrera homered to back Rafael Montero, who won his second straight start.

After an impressive outing at Cincinnati in which he tossed 8 1/3 scoreless innings, Montero (4-9) allowed four runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings.

The Mets chased Mark Leiter Jr. (2-5) by sending 11 batters to the plate during a six-run fourth.

"They had a good game plan against me and swung the bats really well today," said Leiter Jr., who grew up in Toms River, New Jersey, and played college ball at the New Jersey Institute of Technology before the Phillies took him in the 2013 draft.

Reyes extended his hitting streak to 10 games with his 10th homer of the season to lighten up the mood on a team that has been beset by one injury after another over the last couple of weeks.

Cabrera's two-run shot was his 12th of the season, one in which the Mets were positioned to make a third straight run to the playoffs before almost every player on the opening day roster made a trip to the disabled list.

Ahead 4-0, the Mets broke it open in the fourth. Gavin Cecchini hit a two-run single and after a fielding error by shortstop Freddy Galvis on a bunt by Montero, Reyes -- who started at shortstop in place of Amed Rosario -- had a RBI single.

Nori Aoki drove in another run with a grounder and Reyes took advantage of the Phillies defense by advancing to third before reliever Kevin Siegrist's wild pitch let him score.

Reyes started the season as the club's third baseman and then shifted to short in late June when Cabrera, who was showing deficiencies fielding at short, went on the disabled list.

In 122 games, the 15-year-veteran is hitting .238 with 42 RBI and 18 stolen bases.

Once the Mets made the decision that Rosario was ready to make the jump from Triple-A Las Vegas in August, Reyes was there to guide the new kid and willingly accepted the move to second, moving around the field whenever manager Terry Collins made the lineup.

"Of course I'm a big Jose Reyes fan and I'm very, very excited that he's gotten going," Collins said.

"He's a guy that's just said, look, I'll do what I have to do to play. And he's done that. . Fortunately, he's gotten hot at the right time for us and he's a guy that certainly I think is going to establish himself as a very, very good extra player."

The long inning lasted nearly 40 minutes and a run around the bases perhaps didn't benefit Montero, who was 2-1 with a 2.10 ERA in his previous four starts.

The Mets righty, who struggled for most part of the season before turning things around in July, ran into trouble in the fifth, facing six batters and allowing one run.

"When I came in I was little bit off, but I tried to bounce back," Montero said. "I fell behind the (count) against the batters and that's where I started to give up the walks."

Montero left after the Phillies loaded the bases with one out in the sixth. Reliever Paul Sewald threw a wild pitch that let a run score, then Hyun-Soo Kim hit a two-run double and pinch-hitter Andres Blanco had an RBI single that made it 10-5.

TRY AGAIN

Mets RHP Matt Harvey will be back on the mound for Wednesday night against the Phillies after a tough start in Houston in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday in which he was battered for seven runs and eight hits in just two innings. The 28-year-old made his first start back after not having pitched since June 14 due to a stress injury to the scapula bone in his right shoulder, but wanted to pitch on short rest.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Phillies: CF Odubel Herrera (strained left hamstring) was activated from the 10-day disabled list and made an appearance a pinch-hitter in the ninth with a RBI single, to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 18 games. It's the longest by a Phillie since Raul Ibanez's 18 straight from July 22-August 11, 2010 ... Rookie Rhys Hoskins was back in the lineup after missing Sunday's game, going 0 for 3 with a run scored. He was hit by a pitch in his right hand/wrist Saturday night.

Mets: INF Wilmer Flores missed his second straight game after breaking his nose off a foul ball he hit Saturday night in Houston. The team said that Flores will be re-examined Tuesday. ... Rosario (right index finger contusion) also missed the game. He is day-to-day.

UP NEXT

Mets RHP Jacob deGrom (13-8, 3.43) starts the second game of the series against Phillies RHP Ben Lively (2-5, 4.22). DeGrom took the loss in his last start at Cincinnati, allowing three earned in six innings.