MIAMI -- When 42-year-old Bartolo Colon, who is listed at 5-11 and 285 pounds, fielded a slow roller and recorded an out at first base by flipping the ball behind his back, you knew it was the New York Mets' night.

"I've never seen anything like it," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "He better be the No. 1 (play) on SportsCenter tonight."

Colon was more than just flash -- he also shut out the Miami Marlins 7-0 on Saturday night at Marlins Park.

The game was a rout early as catcher Travis d'Arnaud and shortstop Wilmer Flores homered on consecutive first-inning pitches. After scoring four runs in the first and three in the second, the Mets cruised from there.

It helped that Colon (13-11), who did not issue a walk, won his third straight start, extending his season-best scoreless streak to 25 innings. He faced the minimum three batters in four innings, and no Marlins runner reached third base.

But his sixth-inning fielding play on Justin Bour's slow roller was the big topic of conversation after the game.

"Not on the baseball field," Collins said when asked if he taught Colon that play. "We have a little hoops game in spring training, and we tried that a couple of times."

Added Collins: "Do not get fooled by the body and even (infielder) Juan Uribe's body -- they are pretty athletic people."

Colon said he had never used that flip in a game, but he practices it all the time.

"I thought about it before I got the ball," Colon said in Spanish. "Then I thought no, but because there were two outs and we were seven runs ahead, I did it.

"My teammates, I think they were left with their mouths open, like, 'What did he do?' "

Colon's stellar fielding, in addition to his pitching and the Mets' early offense was enough for New York (75-60) to grab the win and maintain its five-game lead over the Washington Nationals in the NL East race.

After Sunday's series finale in Miami, the Mets travel to Washington for three crucial games with the Nationals.

The Mets hope to continue to hit like they did early on Saturday. Center fielder Juan Lagares also homered, his sixth of the season. D'Arnaud hit homer No. 10, and Flores hit his 15th.

D'Arnaud also set a career-high with four RBIs, all of them off Miami left-hander Brad Hand (4-5), who is now 0-5 in his career against the Mets. Hand allowed six hits -- including three homers --two walks and seven runs in just 1 2/3 innings.

"We couldn't dig ourselves out of that early hole," manager Dan Jennings said of his Marlins, who slipped to 56-80 this season.

The Mets opened the scoring in the first on d'Arnaud's two-out, three-run homer, which came on a 3-1 pitch. When Flores homered on the next pitch, it was the eighth time this year the Mets had gone deep back-to-back.

Ironically, the most recent time was also d'Arnaud and Flores but in reverse on Aug. 24 at Philadelphia.

The Mets added three runs in the second on Lagares' two-run shot to right and an RBI single by d'Arnaud.

New York's power show continued a recent trend. Entering Saturday, the Mets ranked second in the National League in home runs since the All-Star break, only three behind the Chicago Cubs.

The Mets, who got their 12th shutout of the season, were able to rest their bullpen because of the masterful work of Colon.

"We keep a chart -- we had 15 hard-hit balls," Jennings said. "But (Colon) is a crafty veteran. He pitches to the big part of the ballpark. He is not going to beat himself."

NOTES: Mets RHP Matt Harvey said Saturday he has been advised by his surgeon not to pitch more than 180 innings this season. Harvey has pitched 166 1/3 innings and is set to start Tuesday at the Nationals. ... The Mets plan to start Harvey four more times in the regular season and will give him a "reasonable workload" in the playoffs, assuming New York qualifies. Harvey said he has "no idea" if the 180 limit includes or excludes postseason. He declined to say if he would pitch if/when he exceeds the limit. ... Marlins RHP Jarred Cosart, who hasn't pitched in the majors since July 4 due to an inner-ear issue that caused dizziness and nausea, returns to the mound against the Mets on Sunday. ... Marlins 3B Martin Prado on Friday became the first major-leaguer since 2011 to get five hits in a game, including a walk-off. It was Prado's seventh career walk-off hit.