Pagan's big night helps Giants beat Mets

NEW YORK -- Angel Pagan likes New York. Even though he is no longer a Met, as a member of the San Francisco Giants, he relishes every chance he gets to play at Citi Field.

"My job is to get on base and make things happen," Pagan said. "When I play here, I give it all and I play as hard as I can."

That's exactly what the Giants center fielder did, going 3-for-3 with two walks, a triple and a go-ahead home run as the Giants (70-81) staved off a late New York Mets rally for an 8-5 win on Tuesday.

"What a great night," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "It was a great night for Angel, a great return to New York."

Pagan broke the Mets bullpen's streak of 18 scoreless innings and a 4-4 tie in the seventh inning when he homered into the left field seats against Sean Henn.

"He's done such a nice job since he's come back [from injury]," Bochy said. "You can see the difference he makes in our club. It shows how important he is. He got a big hit tonight early and just kept it going."

Giants starter Yusmeiro Petit (4-0) picked up his fourth win in six starts despite allowing four runs and seven hits.

San Francisco's bullpen got out of a jam in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and one out after Daniel Murphy singled home Ruben Tejada to pull the Mets (67-83) within three. Sergio Romo got Lucas Duda to pop out to third and Andrew Brown to fly out to center.

"We want to finish strong," Pagan said. "We can feel good about ourselves. I know we're not going to the postseason, but if we finish strong, we can reflect for next year."

Eric Young Jr., Wilmer Flores and Matt den Dekker each had a hit and an RBI for the Mets in the loss.

Once the Mets bullpen lost its streak, the floodgates opened and the Giants pulled away in the last two innings.

"We just didn't pitch very good in the end," Mets manager Terry Collins said.

Tony Abreu doubled home pinch-runner Francisco Peguero, who replaced Pablo Sandoval in the eighth. Pagan followed by smacking his third hit of the game -- a triple -- to bring home Abreu.

With runners on first and second and Jeurys Familia pitching, Hunter Pence singled home a run in the ninth to provide a four-run cushion.

The Giants used Zach Wheeler's control problems to plate three runs in the top of the second. They did it all on one hit. The rookie pitcher walked four batters, including Petit, to bring in the first run of the game.

"He had some trouble getting the ball where he wanted it. He walked some guys and that was the difference," Bochy said. "We took advantage of those walks there. It's a part of the game."

Pagan followed with an RBI single and Gregor Blanco grounded into a fielder's choice that brought in another run.

Young got a run back for the Mets in the third with an RBI groundout, scoring Tejada after he doubled and Wheeler bunted him to third.

The Mets took a 4-3 lead with three runs in the fourth. After Petit walked the first two batters he faced in the inning, Wilmer Flores ripped a double off the left field wall, scoring Murphy and moving Duda to third.

Den Dekker followed with a single, scoring Duda. The cut-off throw had den Dekker caught in a rundown and Duda scored on the fielder's choice.

Buster Posey's RBI groundout tied the score at 4 in the top of the fifth. Pagan, who led the inning off with a walk, scored. Pagan reached base in each of his plate appearances.

Wheeler was done after the fifth, having thrown 107 pitches. He was charged with four earned runs while walking a career-high six and striking out three.

"He couldn't find the zone and we got hurt by it," Collins said. "But he didn't let the game get out of hand."

NOTES: Mets 3B David Wright will not play in this week's series against the Giants. According to Collins, Wright feels and looks good, but the adrenaline he wants to see is not there. Collins promised that Wright will play before the season's end. Wright has been on the disabled list since Aug. 3 with a hamstring strain. ... Mets RHP Matt Harvey visited Dr. James Andrews on Monday about his elbow. Andrews said the elbow was "very stable." Mets GM Sandy Alderson said Harvey is to go through a six-to-eight-week throwing period to see how the elbow responds. A final decision on surgery will be made after the program is complete. ... Den Dekker made his first career start in right field. ... Giants INF Marco Scutaro was not in Tuesday's lineup after undergoing an MRI on his pinkie. He was pulled out of Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a stiff back.