Mets 6, Phillies 1: Daniel Murphy had three hits and drove in a run in support of Jonathon Niese as visiting New York won for the seventh time in nine games.

In the opener of a brief two-game set, Ruben Tejada added two hits and two RBIs for the Mets. Niese (2-2) worked seven innings, allowing one run and four hits with one walk and five strikeouts.

Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels (0-2), making his second start of the season following a bout of biceps tendinitis, surrendered six runs, eight hits and five walks in 4 2/3 innings. Former Mets outfielder Marlon Byrd hit his third homer for Philadelphia.

Murphy opened the scoring with an RBI single in the third inning and New York added two more runs in the fourth, including Hamels' walk to Niese with the bases loaded. Byrd's solo shot drew the Phillies within 3-1 in the bottom half of the fourth, but that was all the offense for Philadelphia on the night.

The Mets bounced right back with two runs in the fifth, including Chris Young's RBI double and Tejada's run-scoring base hit. Daisuke Matsuzaka worked the eighth and Jose Valverde took care of things in the ninth to seal the victory.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The game was delayed by rain for 1 hour, 28 minutes prior to the first pitch. ... Phillies 1B Ryan Howard had two of his team's five hits. ... The Mets had nine hits and drew five walks, but 3B David Wright went 0-for-5 and did not reach base.