Mets, Byrd Stifle Padres in 4-1 Win Marlon Byrd lined a two-out double over a hesitant right-fielder Chris Denorfia's head in the eighth inning, Mets outfielders saved two runs with outstanding plays and New York snapped a three-game skid by beating the San Diego Padres 4-1 Thursday night. Zack Wheeler struck out a career-high 12 for New York. Eric Young Jr. saved a homer by leaping above the wall and knocking the ball back onto the field in the third inning. Center fielder Juan Lagares then threw out a runner at home plate in the fifth. Byrd doubled off reliever Luke Gregerson (5-7), who had intentionally walked the left-handed hitting Daniel Murphy to pitch to the righty Byrd. Gregerson hit pinch-hitter Mike Baxter with a pitch. Baxter stole second before Murphy was walked. Denorfia made his first step in on Byrd's hard-hit ball. He then hesitated and never recovered as the ball sailed over his head. Scott Atchison (3-1) got the victory by pitching a scoreless seventh inning. John Buck added his 15th home run, a solo shot off Padres reliever Tim Stauffer in the ninth. It was his first homer in 96 at-bats. Rookie Gonzalez Germen pitched two scoreless innings for his first career save. He struck out three of the Mets' 15 Ks Thursday. Both starting pitchers, Wheeler and the Padres' Tyson Ross, were outstanding. Wheeler went six innings, allowing one run on seven hits. He walked one and threw a career-high 115 pitches, 73 for strikes. Ross also allowed a run. He worked seven innings and yielded five hits. He struck out eight without walking a batter and threw 109 pitches, 74 for strikes. The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Murphy singled to left leading off. He went to second on a hit-and-run groundout by Ike Davis. With two outs Josh Satin hit a slow roller that shortstop Ronny Cedeno barehanded and threw to first. The throw appeared to be in time, but first base umpire Brian Knight ruled that first baseman Yonder Alonso had pulled his foot off the bag. Murphy never stopped running as Alonso thought that he had made the last out and headed for the dugout while Murphy came all the way around to score. The Padres tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. They loaded the bases on singles by Chase Headley and Denorfia sandwiched around a walk to Alonso. With one out Jaff Decker hit a sacrifice fly to left scoring Headley. In the third, Rene Rivera hit a ball that was out of park in left field but Young leaped at the wall and the ball his glove and the top of the wall before laning on the outifeld turf. Rivera raced in for a triple. Wheeler then struck out Ross and Will Venable to strand Rivera at third. In the bottom of the fifth with runners on first and second and two outs, Alonso hit a line drive to center field. Lagares fielded the ball and threw one hopper that catcher John Buck grabbed and just tagged a sliding Ross for the final out of the inning. Lagares also made a diving catch on Jedd Gyorko's liner in the eighth with a runner on.