Mets rally late for 7th straight victory, 4-3 over Rays

In a game defined by five solo home runs, what stood out Friday was defense – the home run that wasn’t and the sloppiness that followed with a second consecutive rough outing by reliever Brad Boxberger, ultimately dooming the Rays to a 4-3 loss to the Mets.

Former Oregon State standout Michael Conforto hit a tying double and Wilmer Flores had a go-ahead single in the ninth inning as New York rallied past the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 Friday night for its seventh consecutive victory.

“Those pitches were well located”, Boxberger said. “Tonight just wasn’t our night”. The Mets were down 2-1 heading into the eighth, Daniel Murphy tied it at 2 with a home run.

He played with Rays manager Kevin Cash in Boston during the 2010 season. They understood just how important this game was, and had the proper attitude for it. The best part was that in every at bat in the ninth inning, no one tried to do too much at the plate.

“We’ll make a determination after the game tonight, (see) how he’s doing”, Terry Collins said.

“I didn’t feel like I had everything but I definitely had enough to try to get through it”, Boxberger said. “They kept coming at us and getting some big hits”.

Lucas Duda reached first base to start the ninth on Boxberger’s throwing error. Duda moved to second on a wild pitch and scored one out later on Conforto’s double. Conforto was singled home by Wilmer Flores with the winning run.

Jeurys Familia earned his 30th save as the Mets improved to 59-50. It marked the ninth time in 12 games that New York held the opposition to four runs or less.

Kendry Flores (0-1) took the loss in relief of Jose Fernandez. The Rays went ahead 2-1 on Loney’s solo drive off Jacob deGrom in the seventh.

Scott Oberg (3-2) pitched a scoreless seventh inning, John Axford worked the eighth, and Tommy Kahnle got three outs for his first major league save.

Brian Blanco/Getty Images Jacob deGrom tosses 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on six hits and striking out seven.

The Florida native, who played college baseball about two hours from Tropicana Field at Stetson, received a nice ovation as he walked from the dugout to the bullpen for his pregame warmup.

Sizemore put the Rays up 1-0 on a fourth-inning leadoff homer.

Left fielder Grady Sizemore gave the Rays a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning with a line-drive homer to right field off deGrom.

Uribe tied it at 1 in the seventh on a solo shot off Jake Odorizzi, who gave up four hits over 6 2-3 innings. However, this is partially why the Mets acquired players like Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson, Tyler Clippard, etc. That veteran presence, along with a possibly returning David Wright, will immensely help ensure that the team remains focused and calm heading into September. OF Michael Cuddyer (left knee) might return this weekend.

New York Mets center fielder Yoenis Cespedes can not hang onto a single by Tampa Bay Rays’ Evan Longoria during the first inning of an interleague baseball game Friday, August 7, 2015, in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Rays: SS Asdrubal Cabrera started and had two hits after he was struck on the ear by a thrown ball Wednesday…. Rays LHP Drew Smyly gave up four runs and six hits on Thursday for Triple-A Durham in his third rehab start.

This game will feature deGrom (RHP) on the mound against the Rays, who have a 34-43 record when they take on a right-handed starter.

Rays: RHP Nathan Karns (6-5) has 10 no-decisions in 21 starts this season.