NEW YORK -- Curtis Granderson needed only three innings of playing time to do all sorts of damage.Granderson came off the bench and homered twice, Jose Reyes had four hits and the surging New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 7-4 on Tuesday night.Asdrubal Cabrera added to his recent tear at the plate, hitting a two-run homer after missing one start with a sore knee. Rookie right-hander Seth Lugo (2-2) gave up two runs in the first inning but recovered nicely as the Mets won for the eighth time in 10 games.Were playing good baseball. We just need to play consistently right through September, Reyes said.By taking the first two games of the four-game series, the defending NL champions moved ahead of slumping Miami for second place in the NL East. New York (68-64) remained 2 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the leagues second wild card.I think it helps having a little bit of pressure, Lugo said. Its a little easier when theres something on the line. Gives you focus.Looking to spark a scuffling offense, Marlins manager Don Mattingly shuffled his 2-3-4 hitters. It worked right off the bat, with Christian Yelich hitting a two-run homer in his first career plate appearance batting cleanup.It was Miamis first home run in eight games, but that was all for the Marlins until J.T. Realmuto hit a solo homer off Jim Henderson in the ninth. Jeff Francoeur tripled with two outs and scored on Dee Gordons single before Jeurys Familia struck out Marcell Ozuna for his major league-leading 43rd save in 46 chances.Familia matched his 2015 total and again tied the franchise record for one season, first set by Armando Benitez in 2001. Seven of Familias saves this year have come against Miami -- most for any major league reliever versus one team.New York has won nine of the past 12 meetings this season.Miami has dropped four straight and six of eight overall.We cant try to fix it overnight. Its not going to work that way. Weve just got to play good ball, starter Tom Koehler said.Granderson, batting for Lugo, connected against Koehler (9-10) for his second career pinch-hit homer leading off the sixth, extending the Mets lead to 4-2 with the clubs ninth pinch-hit homer this season.Alejandro De Aza added an RBI single later in the inning off Dustin McGowan.Granderson, who stayed in to play right field, launched a two-run shot in the seventh.Its tough to pinch-hit in any situation, he said. Not an easy task by any means.Reyes singled leading off the first and Cabrera went deep on the next pitch. It was the 17th home run this season and fourth in 11 at-bats for the reigning NL player of the week. He is batting .447 with four doubles and 11 RBI in 11 games since coming off the disabled list Aug. 19.Reyes and Cabrera got on base seven times in 10 combined plate appearances from the top two spots in the lineup.Slumping slugger Jay Bruce, who started over Granderson, doubled and scored on a two-out single by Wilmer Flores that gave the Mets a 3-2 lead.Before the game, manager Terry Collins said he thinks De Aza is the teams best option in center field right now. Bruce and Granderson, both with All-Star track records, have been sharing time in right as each tries to get going at the plate.Ive commissioned the commissioners office to give us a rover. They havent OKd that yet, Collins joked. So were going to do the best we can. But I think both of them are everyday players. We just dont have everyday spots.Lugo went six innings and retired the final eight batters he faced in his third major league start. He has won the past two.Struggling reliever Hansel Robles followed Lugo with two scoreless innings.LIKE A HAWKScott Hairston (2011) and Hawk Taylor (1964) were the only other Mets players to homer twice in a game they didnt start.TRAINERS ROOMMarlins: LHP Adam Conley (finger tendinitis) began a throwing program in Florida. It could take him about three weeks to return, Mattingly said.Mets: Rookie LHP Steven Matz (shoulder) is not ready to come off the disabled list and was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday night. Jacob deGrom will be moved up a day to start for Matz in the finale of the four-game series, Collins said. ... 2B Neil Walker sat out his third straight game with a stiff back.VEGAS, BABYThe Las Vegas 51s of the Pacific Coast League will remain the Mets Triple-A affiliate for at least two more years. The teams announced an extension of their player development contract through the 2018 season. Well aware of how inconvenient its been at times to have players travel across the country on red-eye flights when they get promoted to the big leagues, Collins sounded unenthused. The only thing thats good about it is theres enough flights out of Vegas late at night, he said. That situation is what it is, and I dont have anything else to say except we hope that those flights keep going.UP NEXTMarlins RHP David Phelps (7-6, 2.52 ERA) starts Wednesday night against 43-year-old RHP Bartolo Colon (12-7, 3.44 ERA). Joe Garagiola Jersey . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. Jake Jewell Angels Jersey . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. https://www.cheapangels.com/763j-don-baylor-jersey-angels.html . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at . Rod Carew Angels Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Dave Winfield Angels Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. BEREA, Ohio -- Robert Griffin IIIs next comeback isnt quite ready to begin.Clevelands quarterback, who broke a bone in his left shoulder while making his debut with the Browns in the season opener, has been cleared for non-contact drills and could play again this season.However, he wont practice this week and its not clear when hell be back on the field. Griffin was on a stationary bike off to the side Wednesday as the winless Browns (0-10) continued preparing for Sundays home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.Griffin has been sidelined since breaking the coracoid bone in his shoulder at the end of a running play in the fourth quarter of the Sept. 11 loss to the Eagles.Theres no guarantee RG3 will play in any of Clevelands last six games, but the Browns would like to take another look at the 26-year-old to see if he can be their starter next season and beyond.Once he begins practicing, the Browns will have 21 days to decide whether to take Griffin off injured reserve and put him on the active roster.Griffin ssigned a two-year, $15 million contract in March with the Browns, who were willing to give him a chance to revive his career after his four-year stint with Washington, which began so spectacularly, ended with his release earlier this year.dddddddddddd.Griffin overcame a serious knee injury while he was with the Redskins, but he lost his starting job last season to Kirk Cousins and didnt play a single snap.With Griffin on their roster, Cleveland passed on a chance to take Carson Wentz in the draft and traded the No. 2 overall pick to Philadelphia.Griffins injury was the first of several key ones for the Browns, who have been forced to play six quarterbacks. Rookie Cody Kessler, who was benched in favor of veteran Josh McCown in the second half last week against Baltimore, will start against the Steelers.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '