HYANNIS--One day after being selected to represent the host Hyannis Mets in the Baseball Factory Home Run Hitting Contest prior to Saturday's All-Star Game, Justin Tellam made manifest the merits of his selection with a towering grand slam that helped the Mets to a 8-3 win over the Wareham Gatemen, snapping a franchise record 14-game losing streak.

Tellam's team-leading fourth blast was rocketed over the McKeon Park left field fence in the third inning, a frame in which the Mets sent 10 batters to the plate and recorded a season-high seven hits. The slam staked timeless Mets starter Mark Sauls to a 5-0 lead, giving Sauls more than enough support to improve to 1-4 on the season.

The third inning was marked by the kind of freak occurrences that constantly went against Hyannis over the course of its losing streak. With one out in the inning, Kevin Koski hit a wildly spinning ball off the end of his bat that bounced on the grass in foul territory before rolling back into fair ground and past third base, where third baseman Austin Boggs had given up pursuit of the ball upon seeing the initial foul landing. Alex Feinberg followed with an infield bouncer that died on the edge of the grass before eventually reaching shortstop Lance Zawadzki.

An Andy D'Alessio base hit to right drove home the first run of the third (as Koski ran through a stop sign to score from second), bringing Chris Johnson to the plate with two on and two out. Johnson softly grounded a 1-1 offering from All-Star starter Wade LeBlanc in between short and third, in a spot where neither fielder treated the play with much urgency. The three unusual infield hits set the stage for Tellam's eight-pitch at-bat, culminating in a high shot that sailed quickly through the humid Hyannis air.

Sauls pitched the outing of a workhorse for the Mets in earning the first win of his third season in Hyannis. Over seven innings and 112 pitches, Sauls struck out eight and walked three, allowing three earned runs on five hits. He was relieved for the final two innings by Mets closer Daniel Latham, who did not disappoint after finding himself in a save situation for the first time in 18 days. Latham struck out three, allowing only a single to Wareham's hottest hitter, Whit Robbins.

Robbins tried to make a game of things for the Gatemen in the sixth inning, launching his team-high fifth homer of the season to right field with Zawadzki at first after a leadoff walk. Robbins finished 2-for-3 with a walk. Austin Boggs was the other Wareham multiple hitter, going 2-for-4 with a double in the second inning and a single in the fourth.

Tellam led off the eighth inning with a base hit to left that made him 2-for-4 on the afternoon. Hitting behind Tellam, Mark McGonigle also went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and a run scored in the eighth. Batting in the leadoff spot for the first time this season, Feinberg was 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI single. Kyle Norrid hit an RBI double to left center in the fourth inning, driving home Koski from first.

The lively Mets bats, pounding out 11 hits in the game, chased LeBlanc from the game after just three innings and 60 pitches. LeBlanc (3-2) struck out one and walked none, but he was charged with five earned runs and a balk while letting up seven hits. Bobby Bramhall held the line as best he could through 4 2/3 innings of relief, but a costly fielding error led to a pair of unearned runs in the eighth that put the game out of reach.

Stats of note...the Mets also snapped their other double-digit losing streak at home against the Gatemen back on July 2...a pop-up bunt by Koski in the sixth inning ended a streak of reaching base in eight consecutive plate appearances stretching back to Sunday's game against Harwich; over the course of his streak, he was 6-for-7 (reaching once on an error) with a walk, two RBIs, and three runs scored...over the course of the season series, the Gatemen started three pitchers against the Mets who were named to the West All-Star team on Tuesday: West starter Daniel Bard and reserves LeBlanc and John Lalor.