Mets Are Two-Timed by Arizona

NEW YORK — Sweeping a doubleheader is difficult enough for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Doing it without Curt Schilling or Randy Johnson is truly shocking.

Jay Bell hit his first homer in more than a year and matched his career high with five runs batted in to spoil John Thomson’s debut with the New York Mets and give Arizona a 9-2 victory in the second game Saturday.

Erubiel Durazo hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning, his second home run in the first game, to give reliever Byung-Hyun Kim and the Diamondbacks an 8-5 victory.

“It was a fun day for us,” first baseman Mark Grace said. “To come here and win a doubleheader from these guys when the pitchers we had throwing weren’t named Schilling or Johnson is a real good day for us.”

More than half of Arizona’s victories before Saturday had come from its two aces. But the Diamondbacks didn’t need either one to sweep a doubleheader for the first time in four tries in franchise history.

Arizona has won 10 of 12 to open a season-high six-game lead over the second-place Dodgers in the National League West. New York has lost four of five to fall into fifth place in the wild-card race, five games behind the Dodgers.

Thomson (7-9), acquired from Colorado at the trade deadline Wednesday, gave up seven runs--three earned--and seven hits in six innings.

“I think I did put more pressure on myself than I should have,” Thomson said.