PHILADELPHIA (Interstat) — Zack Wheeler pitched 5 2/3 strong innings and Kyle Schwarber belted a three-run homer in a five-run second inning as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 6-2 on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park before a crowd of 41,552.

The Phillies improved to 42-35 while the Mets dropped to 34-43. The game lasted 2 hours 45 minutes.

Wheeler, who entered the game with a 6-1 record, allowed four hits and two earned runs while striking out seven. He threw 28 strikes, 60 balls and had 28 balls in play. The righthander retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth innings before leaving after back-to-back walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth. Jonathan Bowlan relieved and struck out Marcus Semien to end the inning.

David Peterson took the loss for New York, falling to 3-6. He allowed six hits and five earned runs over four innings. The lefthander issued three walks and struck out five. His only clean inning was the fourth.

The Phillies jumped on Peterson early. In the first inning, Trea Turner walked and Schwarber walked before Bryce Harper struck out. Alec Bohm then grounded a single to third baseman Brett Baty, and Turner scored when Baty’s throw sailed wide of first base. Edmundo Sosa followed with an RBI single to center, scoring Schwarber and sending Bohm to second. Peterson struck out Brandon Marsh and got J.T. Realmuto to line out to first, limiting the damage to two runs.

The second inning proved decisive. Bryson Stott singled and Turner singled to put runners on first and second with one out. Schwarber then drove a 1-0 pitch to right-center field for his 29th home run of the season, scoring Stott and Turner to make it 5-0. Harper followed with a double, but Peterson retired the next two batters.

The Mets cut the lead in the third when Carson Benge led off with his ninth home run of the season, a solo shot to left field off Wheeler. Benge struck out in his first at-bat but drove a fastball over the wall to make it 5-1. Juan Soto followed with a single but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double on a throw from center fielder Derek Hill.

Philadelphia answered in the fifth. Harper led off with his 17th homer of the year, a solo shot to right field off Mets reliever Austin Warren, extending the lead to 6-1. Warren allowed one run on two hits over two innings, striking out two.

The Mets added a run in the sixth. Benge walked, Soto walked and Jared Young walked to load the bases with one out. A.J. Ewing grounded into a forceout at second, scoring Benge to make it 6-2. Wheeler then struck out Semien to end his outing. Bowlan recorded the final out of the inning with a strikeout.

New York managed two hits in the final three innings but could not score. José Alvarado pitched a scoreless seventh, allowing one hit and striking out two. Jhoan Duran struck out three in a perfect eighth. Orion Kerkering struck out one in a perfect ninth. For the Mets, A.J. Minter pitched a scoreless eighth, allowing no hits. Brooks Raley pitched a scoreless seventh, allowing one hit.

The Mets totaled six hits. Benge finished 1-for-3 with a walk, a home run and two runs scored. Ewing had two singles. Juan Soto walked twice and singled. Luis Torrens singled. Bo Bichette went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

The Phillies collected nine hits. Harper went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and one RBI. Schwarber drove in three runs. Stott and Turner each had two hits. Bohm and Sosa each drove in a run. Derek Hill singled.

The Mets’ pitchers combined for 28 strikes, 60 balls and 28 balls in play. The Phillies’ pitchers combined for 13 strikes, 49 balls and 13 balls in play.

The game was the third of a four-game series between the two National League East rivals. The Phillies won 15-3 on Saturday, while the Mets won 6-4 on Thursday. The Mets entered the series having lost four of their previous five games, including a 12-0 defeat at Cincinnati on June 15. The Phillies had won seven of their previous 10 games before Sunday.

The two teams meet again Friday at Citi Field in New York, the first of a three-game series. The Phillies head to Washington for a four-game set beginning Monday. The Mets host the Chicago Cubs for four games beginning Monday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Philadelphia 5, New York 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Phillies a 60.10 percent probability to win. Philadelphia was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of eight runs went under the over-under line of 7.5.