NEW YORK (Interstat) — A pitchers’ duel turned into a decisive rout as the Arizona Diamondbacks erupted for seven unanswered runs in the late innings to defeat the New York Mets 7-1 on Thursday afternoon at Citi Field, securing a series victory.

The game’s pivotal shift came in the top of the seventh inning, breaking a tense 1-1 deadlock and transforming a masterful start by Mets right-hander Nolan McLean into a loss. McLean, who had stifled the Diamondbacks for six innings, allowed a leadoff walk to Geraldo Perdomo to begin the seventh. After a strikeout, Jose Fernandez singled to center, setting the stage for pinch-hitter Gabriel Moreno.

Moreno, batting for James McCann, launched a double to right field, scoring Perdomo and moving Fernandez to third. The Diamondbacks then executed a perfectly placed fielder’s choice grounder by Alek Thomas, which first baseman Mark Vientos fielded but had no play at home, allowing Fernandez to score. Tim Tawa followed with a sacrifice fly to center, plating Moreno. Jorge Barrosa then delivered the exclamation point, tripling to right field to score Thomas, capping a four-run outburst that chased McLean and seized control of the contest.

Arizona added three more runs in the eighth for good measure, highlighted by an RBI double from Adrian Del Castillo and a second run-scoring double from Moreno, who finished 2 for 2 with two RBIs in his critical pinch-hit role.

The offensive explosion made a winner of Arizona left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, who delivered a sterling performance. Rodriguez allowed one run on five hits over six innings, walking one and striking out three. The lone blemish was a solo home run by Luis Robert Jr. in the bottom of the first inning, which gave the Mets an early 1-0 lead. Rodriguez, however, settled in effectively, navigating traffic in the third and fifth innings without further damage. His effort lowered his ERA to a minuscule 0.50 over his first three starts, despite entering the game with an 0-2 record due to a lack of run support.

McLean was the hard-luck loser, charged with four runs on three hits over 6 1/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked two, but the seventh-inning rally undid his otherwise dominant outing. His record fell to 1-1.

The Diamondbacks’ bullpen was flawless in preserving the lead. Taylor Rashi followed Rodriguez with two perfect innings of relief, striking out three. Taylor Clarke worked a scoreless ninth to close out the victory.

Arizona’s offense, held to just three hits through six innings, finished with eight, with Fernandez also contributing two hits and an RBI. The Mets managed six hits but went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.

The victory improved Arizona’s record to 7-6, pulling them even with the Mets, who also sit at 7-6. The Diamondbacks took two of three games in the series after splitting the first two contests.

The game defied the pregame projections from Interstat, which gave the Mets a 54.3% probability to win and predicted a 5-3 final score. The Mets had also been installed as 1.5-run favorites. The combined eight runs went under the over/under line of 7.5.

Attendance at Citi Field was 35,783 for the afternoon affair, which took 2 hours and 41 minutes to complete.

The Diamondbacks now travel to Philadelphia to begin a three-game series with the Phillies on Friday. The Mets will remain at home to host the Athletics for a three-game set starting Friday.