Mets 6, Mariners 3 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)
Mets record: 63-74
Mets streak: Won 1
WP – Tylor Megill (8-7)
LP – George Kirby (10-9)
SV – Adam Ottavino (8)
Seat on the Korner
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Alonso was a one-man wrecking crew Sunday and reached a pair of nice round numbers along the way. The Mets first baseman was 3-for-4 with two home runs and 4 RBI in the win. With two outs and Francisco Lindor running on the pitch in the first inning, Alonso laced a hit to right center. Lindor scored all the way from first and Alonso moved up to second on the throw home. In the third inning, he clubbed a spinner from George Kirby over the wall in left for a two-run home run, his 40th of the season. He followed later with a solo bomb to deep left to reach 100 RBI this season. Alonso is 12 homers shy of tying his own single-season franchise record (53) and is the fifth player in MLB history to hit 40 or more home runs in three of his first five seasons. This is also his third season of 100 or more RBI.
Need to Know
*The Mets put a crimp in the Mariners' playoff push by winning the rubber game and taking 2-of-3 in this series.
*New York took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and is now 40-16 when scoring first this season.
*The Mets have won three of their past four games and finished 4-5 on this homestand against American League opponents. They are 18-25 against the AL in 2023.
*Pete Alonso hit his 40th and 41st home runs and extended
his franchise record for most 40-homer seasons to three. No other Mets player has more than one season with 40 home runs (Todd Hundley 41; Mike Piazza and Carlos Beltran 40).
*Jeff McNeil was 2-for-4 and hit a solo home run in the fifth inning.
*The Baby Mets batted 7-9 in the order and each was 1-for-4. Ronny Mauricio had a hard-hit single, stole a base and scored a run; Brett Baty had a bullet single to right; and Francisco Alvarez drove in Mauricio with an RBI single to left in the second inning.
*Adam Ottavino struck out J.P. Crawford with the tying runs on base to end the game, one day after the Mariners shortstop hit a game-winning home run against the Mets reliever.
*The Mets bullpen pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless ball, allowing two hits. Brooks Raley retired all five batters he faced.
Turning Point
Alonso’s two-run live drive home run in the third inning put the Mets up 4-0. The cushion was crucial because Kirby had struggled but limited the damage the first two innings and the Mariners answered with three runs of their own in the top of the fourth. Yet, the Mets remained ahead thanks to Alonso’s blast and never trailed en-route to the victory.
Three Keys
Tylor Megill didn’t let this one get away
Right from a 1-2-3 first inning, it appeared Megill had some nasty stuff. The right-hander effectively mixed his breaking pitches and fastball, and worked from ahead in the count much of the time. This being Megill, of course, there was a major hiccup in the fourth inning when he hit a batter with two outs and no one on and then surrendered back-to-back home runs to Dominic Canzone and Mike Ford. But Megill fought back and picked up the win by pitching into the sixth. Megill allowed three runs, five hits and two walks while striking out six in 5.1 innings. He’s now allowed three runs or fewer in his past four starts (2 wins, 1 loss, 1 no decision).
Mets come up aces
For the second straight game, the Mets ambushed one of Seattle’s aces and sent him to the showers early. Kirby, an All-Star right-hander, started and pitched a season-low three innings, allowing four runs (three earned), six hits and Alonso’s first home run. Kirby needed 73 pitches to record nine outs. On Saturday, Luis Castillo was knocked out after allowing five runs, eight hits and two home runs in five innings.
Francisco Lindor’s payback
Lindor was robbed of an RBI base hit in the second inning when the bullet off his bat was snared by Mariners second baseman Josh Rojas. With two on and two out, Lindor ripped a line drive which a leaping Rojas deflected straight up before it settled softly into his glove. The Mets shortstop answered back with a defensive gem of his own in the top of the fifth inning. With a man on first and no one out, Julio Rodriguez ripped a screaming one hop shot which Lindor deftly snagged and turned into a double play with the help of Ronny Mauricio and Alonso.