Kennedy pitches Diamondbacks past Mets

PHOENIX -- In a game that looked competitive only on the scoreboard, the Mets were outpitched and outclassed in Friday night's 4-3 loss to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

Maybe that's because they have to empty the tank these days just to get within reach of the other team, and in this case, Arizona is atop the National League West -- two games ahead of the defending world champion Giants.

Former Yankee Ian Kennedy, who was dealt to Arizona in the three-team trade that brought Curtis Granderson to the Bronx, rolled over the Mets as if they were little more than a speed bump en route to lifting his record to 15-3. He is 7-0 with a 2.44 ERA in his last seven starts.

"This game always will be about pitching," Terry Collins said. "We've got to get somebody to go out there and throw up some zeroes. We've been fighting from behind for what seems like almost for a week straight, and when you don't hit the ball out of the ballpark, it's tough to catch up."

Dillon Gee (10-4) put up a few zeroes -- but not until after the second inning, and by then, the Diamondbacks already had a 4-0 lead. He lasted only five innings for the second consecutive start -- and third time in four -- as he left with the Mets in a 4-1 hole.

Gee again was dogged by command issues, and he fractured Xavier Nady's left hand by drilling him with a fastball in the second inning. Arizona got its revenge by following with three runs on three straight doubles, including a two-run double by former Yankee Cody Ransom and an RBI double by Kennedy. The Arizona pitcher actually showed bunt before yanking the bat back and launching a drive into the right-centerfield gap.

"I got totally surprised by Ian," Gee said. "I thought he was bunting. That was a big blow right there."

Before the game, Collins had complained about Gee's confounding tendencies. He specifically talked about Gee's reluctance to use his curveball, which was a key to his success earlier this season.

"I don't know why he hasn't been throwing it," Collins said. "Somebody's got to explain that to me, because that's not the kind of pitcher he is."

Collins got his answer in the first inning, when Gee left a 1-and-2 curveball up to Justin Upton, who deposited the pitch about 10 rows deep in the left-center bleachers. For whatever reason, Gee has seemed to lack confidence in his breaking pitches, and that's why he's slipped recently. With Upton, Gee got a first-pitch strike on a curveball, then went back to it -- and threw the same exact pitch, same location.

"I can't do that," Gee said.

Despite the early deficit, the Mets rallied back, with Bay as the catalyst.

Kennedy retired eight of the first nine and didn't allow his first hit until Angel Pagan's two-out single in the third inning. The Mets scored their lone run off him in the fifth. After Pagan's second hit, another single, he took second on a wild pitch and sprinted home on Jason Bay's two-out RBI single.

Bay doubled and scored in the eighth on Jason Pridie's groundout. Bay, who went 3-for-4, has reached safely in 15 straight games and is batting .415 (22-for-53) since July 28. He has 13 RBIs in his last 18 games.

When asked what's different for him now as opposed to his earlier slump, Bay shrugged. "You should do a story about it and let me know how it turns out," he said. "I went from being completely lost to feeling as uncomfortable as you can probably feel in the batter's box. Now everyone will say why didn't you do that sooner?"

The Mets went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position but still got the tying run to the plate in the ninth against old friend J.J. Putz. Scott Hairston opened with a pinch-hit double and scored on Willie Harris' sacrifice fly, but David Wright grounded out as the Mets suffered their ninth loss in 12 games. They fell two games below .500 for the first time since June 24, when they were 37-39.

"It is what is," Collins said. "We've got to get through it. We've got guys out there and they're going to have to start doing the job."