New York — Mets manager Terry Collins addressed his team on Friday night following its fourth loss in five games.

He didn't yell at the players or get upset despite the club's recent skid.

What was his message instead? Lighten up.

"If we have a meeting something's wrong, so I don't like to have meetings," Collins said. "So tonight I just walked in and said, 'Guys, we got to lighten it up in here. Turn the music up, lighten the atmosphere around here.'"

Tyler Chatwood kept winning on the road, Carlos Gonzalez homered and drove in four runs and the Colorado Rockies defeated New York 6-1 Friday night for their fourth straight victory.

Mark Reynolds homered and Charlie Blackmon had four hits for the surging Rockies. They are 11-4 since the All-Star break and have moved within four games of Miami for the second NL wild-card spot.

Chatwood (10-6) improved to 6-0 with a 1.30 ERA away from Coors Field this season. The 26-year-old is 4-6 with a 5.69 ERA at home.

Gonzalez matched a season-high hitting streak of 11 games with an RBI double in the first. He hit a 448-foot, three-run drive in the ninth for his 21st homer.

"It's a tough place and obviously they have really good pitching so you're trying to take what they give you and not try to do too much," Gonzalez said. "Great things happen when you take that approach."

Steven Matz (8-7) gave up two runs and 10 hits in six innings.

"I think from a battling standpoint, I got out of some big situations that limited the damage as much as I could," Matz said. "In a tight ballgame like that, scattering 10 hits and falling behind there in the sixth inning to give them the lead, is frustrating."

James Loney homered for the Mets. Alejandro De Aza had another kind of hit — he had a pinch-single in the eighth, and later was running to third when he was grazed in the helmet by the shattered barrel of Travis d'Arnaud's bat.

Down 3-1, the Mets got a pair of singles to start the eighth off Jake McGee. Scott Oberg relieved and retired the next three batters on just three pitches. The Mets are the majors' worst hitting team with runners in scoring position.

"It seems that we are pressing a little bit, especially in situations where we have guys on base and we have opportunities to bring runs home," outfielder Michael Conforto said.

As for Collins' pep talk?

"That's the message, let's have some fun. Let's not get too serious here, not get too down on ourselves. Let's go have some fun and get on a roll like we did last year. We know we can do it," Conforto said.

Hall of fame welcome

The Mets started a weekend-long tribute to Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, handing out replica jerseys to all fans. A large home plate with Piazza's No. 31 in the middle was etched into the center field grass in anticipation of Saturday's number retirement ceremony.

"It's truly an honor to be able to celebrate his career here in New York and it means so much and I'm so honored to be able to wear that No. 31 on my shoulder," d'Arnaud said.

Trainer's room

Mets: 3B Jose Reyes (strained left ribcage) missed his fourth straight game. "He's a little closer," Collins said. "We've got to be careful not to overdo it."

Up next

LHP Jorge De La Rosa (6-7, 5.70) is slated to start for Colorado on Saturday night in a matchup of veterans, opposed by 43-year-old righty Bartolo Colon (9-5, 3.35). The 35-year-old De La Rosa is 2-1 with a 3.79 ERA in three starts at Citi Field. Colon will be starting on short rest, earning the win over St. Louis in the second game of a doubleheader on Tuesday.