Mets break Cubs with 11-run 6th

By Vincent Lee

CHICAGO – Cliff Floyd and Carlos Beltran hit grand slams and David Wright added a two-run shot in a team-record 11-run sixth inning as the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 13-7 Sunday night.

New York sent 16 batters to the plate in the sixth and benefited from two errors on second baseman Todd Walker that led to eight of the 11 runs being unearned. The half-inning, on a 95-degree night at Wrigley Field, took 41 minutes to play.

The Mets’ outburst marked the first time a team had two grand slams in an inning since April 23, 1999, when St. Louis’ Fernando Tatis hit two in the third at Los Angeles.

New York trailed 5-0 after two innings before showing why it is the highest scoring team in the National League and the one with the best record (55-37).

Floyd’s grand slam was a liner to left field off Sean Marshall (5-8) that just cleared the wall and landed in the basket above the ivy.

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Reliever Pedro Feliciano (3-2) worked a scoreless fifth to get the win.

Marshall (5-8) was staked to a 5-0 lead after two innings when the Cubs drove veteran Orlando Hernandez out after 1 2-3 innings, matching his shortest stint of the season.

Marshall ended up lasting just 5 1-3 innings, giving up seven hits and seven runs – five earned. Novoa lasted one-third of an inning, allowing six runs, none earned.

Marshall had his first career homer for the Cubs and pinch-hitter Phil Nevin hit a two-run shot in the seventh off Aaron Heilman.