Parnell lights up radar gun

Mets reliever Bobby Parnell failed to grab the closer job when he had a chance last season, but given the way he's been pitching lately, he might be ready to challenge Jon Rauch and Ramon Ramirez for the eighth-inning setup role.

Parnell came on in the eighth for Johan Santana in the Mets' 4-3 win over Arizona Saturday at Citi Field and got two outs sandwiched around an infield single. Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson sent up lefthanded pinch hitter Miguel Montero against the righthanded Parnell, bringing a visit to the mound from pitching coach Dan Warthen.

Asked if there was some thought of lifting Parnell at that point, catcher Mike Nickeas said, "I was hoping not. Bobby had great stuff. "Dan said, 'Hey, you have the best fastball. Let it go now.' You saw he was lighting it up."

Parnell struck out Montero on 95-, 95- and 97-mph fastballs. "He's just come on to be outstanding," Terry Collins said.

Carrasco up, Valdespin down

After the game, the Mets called up reliever D.J. Carrasco from Buffalo, where he threw two scoreless innings in his second rehab start Friday night. He will fill the role of Miguel Batista, who will get a spot start Tuesday in Philadelphia. Infielder Jordany Valdespin was optioned to Buffalo.

Murphy picks up four hits

Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy tied his career high with four hits in as many at-bats against the Diamondbacks, starting the Mets' four-run fourth with a one-out single.

"I remember last year Dan hit great in the fifth spot," Collins said. "He got red-hot. I said I'm going to see if you can rekindle what you did last summer."

Andres Torres delivered a two-run double in the fourth that drove in the winning runs. That gave him at least one hit and one RBI in all five games since he returned from the disabled list. Getting RBIs in five straight games is a career high.