DENVER -- Pinch-hitter Charlie Culberson homered to straightaway center field with one out in the ninth to give the Rockies an improbable 11-10 victory over the Mets.Culberson entered with a .111 batting average, but his hit came on a night when teammates Nolan Arenado and Troy Tulowitzki had hits that put them in the club's record books.Juan Lagares' RBI single with two out in the top of the ninth off LaTroy Hawkins (1-0) gave the Mets a 10-9 lead. Tulowitzki led off the ninth with a single -- his third hit -- off Kyle Farnsworth (0-2). 
Arenado, who extended his hit steak to 23 games with a grand slam in the fifth, flied out to deep center, and Tulowitzki -- for whom daring baserunning is a risk because of his history of leg injuries -- alertly beat Lagares' throw to second base. It turned out he didn't have to hustle so much.Culberson fouled off two pitches during the at-bat before clubbing Farnsworth's 1-2 fastball.The Rockies will attempt a sweep of the four-game set on Sunday afternoon.The Mets built a 6-0 lead through three innings, only to give it up in a slugfest that saw the teams combine for 30 hits, including a season-high 17 for the Mets.It was a night of milestones for the Rockies.During an eight-run fifth that erased a 6-0 deficit, Arenado parked a grand slam that gave him a 23-game hit streak -- tied with Dante Bichette's 23-gamer in 1995 for second-longest in club history. Michael Cuddyer's 27-game run last year is the club record.Tulowitzki's second single of the game, with one out in the seventh to help spark a run-scoring rally, was the 1,000th hit of his career. He is the 78th active player to reach that plateau and the fifth player to accomplish the feat while wearing a Rockies uniform.The night was not much fun for starting pitchers, however.Rockies lefty Franklin Morales gave up three first-inning runs on four hits, including Daniel Murphy's triple and David Wright's RBI double, and it didn't get much better. Anthony Recker's RBI double paced a three-run third. Morales gave up nine hits and six runs (five earned) in five innings.Yet Morales was in position to win.That's because Mets starter Jenrry Mejia coughed up the lead in the fifth. Ryan Wheeler, in his first start since being called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Friday, opened with a homer to right field. Charlie Blackmon, Drew Stubbs and Carlos Gonzalez (back from missing Friday with a broken blood vessel in his left index finger) each added RBI singles.Mejia hit Tulowitzki with a pitch to load the bases, and Arenado swatted Mejia's first offering into the left-field bleachers for an 8-6 Rockies lead. Arenado's fifth homer this season chased Mejia, who seemed to be sailing but wound up yielding eight runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.The Mets tied it in the sixth when Murphy and Chris Young each doubled off Chris Martin, and Curtis Granderson singled off Rex Brothers to drive in Young.Tulowitzki's single off Daisuke Matsuzaka with one down in the seventh gave him 1,000. The Rockies loaded the bases on an Arenado double and an intentional walk to Corey Dickerson, and Jordan Pacheco's sacrifice fly gave the Rockies a 9-8 lead.The Mets would tie it against Adam Ottavino in the eighth, on Murphy's leadoff double and Young's RBI single.Lagares' RBI single in the ninth moved his hit streak to 12 games.Thomas Harding / MLB.com
Arenado, who extended his hit steak to 23 games with a grand slam in the fifth, flied out to deep center, and Tulowitzki -- for whom daring baserunning is a risk because of his history of leg injuries -- alertly beat Lagares' throw to second base. It turned out he didn't have to hustle so much.Culberson fouled off two pitches during the at-bat before clubbing Farnsworth's 1-2 fastball.The Rockies will attempt a sweep of the four-game set on Sunday afternoon.The Mets built a 6-0 lead through three innings, only to give it up in a slugfest that saw the teams combine for 30 hits, including a season-high 17 for the Mets.It was a night of milestones for the Rockies.During an eight-run fifth that erased a 6-0 deficit, Arenado parked a grand slam that gave him a 23-game hit streak -- tied with Dante Bichette's 23-gamer in 1995 for second-longest in club history. Michael Cuddyer's 27-game run last year is the club record.Tulowitzki's second single of the game, with one out in the seventh to help spark a run-scoring rally, was the 1,000th hit of his career. He is the 78th active player to reach that plateau and the fifth player to accomplish the feat while wearing a Rockies uniform.The night was not much fun for starting pitchers, however.Rockies lefty Franklin Morales gave up three first-inning runs on four hits, including Daniel Murphy's triple and David Wright's RBI double, and it didn't get much better. Anthony Recker's RBI double paced a three-run third. Morales gave up nine hits and six runs (five earned) in five innings.Yet Morales was in position to win.That's because Mets starter Jenrry Mejia coughed up the lead in the fifth. Ryan Wheeler, in his first start since being called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Friday, opened with a homer to right field. Charlie Blackmon, Drew Stubbs and Carlos Gonzalez (back from missing Friday with a broken blood vessel in his left index finger) each added RBI singles.Mejia hit Tulowitzki with a pitch to load the bases, and Arenado swatted Mejia's first offering into the left-field bleachers for an 8-6 Rockies lead. Arenado's fifth homer this season chased Mejia, who seemed to be sailing but wound up yielding eight runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.The Mets tied it in the sixth when Murphy and Chris Young each doubled off Chris Martin, and Curtis Granderson singled off Rex Brothers to drive in Young.Tulowitzki's single off Daisuke Matsuzaka with one down in the seventh gave him 1,000. The Rockies loaded the bases on an Arenado double and an intentional walk to Corey Dickerson, and Jordan Pacheco's sacrifice fly gave the Rockies a 9-8 lead.The Mets would tie it against Adam Ottavino in the eighth, on Murphy's leadoff double and Young's RBI single.Lagares' RBI single in the ninth moved his hit streak to 12 games.Thomas Harding / MLB.com
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