Mets Win A Wild One With New-Look Bullpen

Mets 6 Guardians 5, 10 innings (Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH)

Mets record: 49-66

Mets streak: Won 2

WP - Chase McDermott (1-0)

LP - Matt Festa (2-3)

SV - Daniel Duarte (1)

Seat on the Korner: Jorge Polanco

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

Sometimes, you just have to roll with the tide, and while we're not ready to climb on the Jorge Polanco bandwagon just yet, Polanco did have what Gary and Keith were calling a breakout game: A home run and a double, after an 0-for-26 run that made you wonder if he should be sent home for the rest of the year. But give Polanco some credit: he worked hard to figure out what was wrong, including taking 300- -- that's not a misprint -- swings on the field before the game. So let's give him some love by asking him to take a seat next to Ralph and talk about trying to get out of a slump and, at least for one night, succeeding.

Need to Know

• The key to winning: scoring runs (duh), and a lot of them. The Mets are 34-5 when scoring five or more runs in a game, an .870 winning percentage. The problem with the season is they haven't done it enough times. They are last in the majors in putting up a five-spot.

• As Jorge Polanco showed signs of breaking our of his season-long slump, Francisco Lindor continued in his recent hit drought. After posting a Golden Sombrero, Lindor is 0-for-9 in this series

• Big question as the game progressed: Where was Devin Williams? The assumed Mets closer sat in the bullpen with his sweatshirt on as newly-acquired Chase McDermott threw the eighth and ninth and Daniel Duarte, who pitched Tuesday night, was sent out for the save in the 10th. After the game, manager Andy Green said that Williams had reported some arm fatigue, so he decided out of caution to given him another night off. Green said Williams would be available Thursday.

• A strange night for third-base umpire Chad Fairchild. He punched out Chase DeLauter in the sixth and then ejected Guardians manager Steven Vogt for questioning the call. In the eighth, he seemed oblivious to some obvious obstruction that resulted in A.J. Ewing being called out at third after a seemingly botched Guardians rundown.

• Before the game, the Guardians recalled their number two prospect, Angel Genao, and inserted him in the lineup at third base. Genae, a switch hitter, is more a shortstop by trade, and growing up, his idol was another Guardians shortstop who now plays for the Mets: Francisco Lindor. Growing up in the Dominican Republic, Genao used to watch highlight videos of Lindor. After this game, maybe Lindor should watch videos of Genao: he singled in his first four at bats and had a chance to win the game for the Guardians in the ninth but flied out to end the game into extra innings.

• We're still trying to sort this out, but the Mets' game notes list two South Atlantic League players of the month for July: Pitcher Noah Hall, who went 2-0 with a 0.39 ERA in four appearances for Brooklyn, earning him a promotion to AA Binghamton; and recently acquired Samma Stafura, the player the Mets got from the Pirates for Luke Weaver. Stafura batted .358/.379/.926 and led the league in home runs (14), RBI (35), runs (25), total bases (75), slugging percentage (.926) and OPS (1.305)...He was second in hits (29) and third in average (.358). Stafura, like Hall is now a Rumble Pony.

• The series concludes Thursday afternoon with Nolan McLean taking the mound against Foster Griffin.

  
  

Turning Point

Can you credit karma for a win? In this seesaw game, the Mets seemed to have the karma. Down to their last out in the ninth, with potential tying run Jared Young on first after a leadoff walk, Jorge Polanco doubled to left. Marcus Semien walked to load the bases. And then, A.J. Ewing hit a ground ball that looked like a sure game-ender, until...Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio let the ball bounce off his glove. Young scored on the error, and the Mets won it in the 10th. Whew!

Three Keys

Back-to-back from Who?

The Mets broke open the scoring in the third inning, thanks to back-to-back home runs by two unlikely candidates: Brett Baty and Jorge Polanco. Baty has become almost a forgotten man with the return of Marcus Semien and Luis Robert Jr. from the IL, but he was inserted in the lineup in left field -- the first time he has started there this season. Baty was 0-for-his-last-eight, and with Tanner Bibee getting the count to 0-2, it looked like Baty was going to extend his hitless streak. But then Bibee grooved one, and Baty took advantage:

Which brought up Jorge Polanco, in the midst of an 0-for-26 streak. Again, the third pitch was the charm:

Scott Sails....Until

Christian Scott started off strong, sailing through the first three innings in 43 pitches. But the fourth and fifth....that's another story. Scott walked Jo Adell to lead off the fourth, and Nathaniel Lowe followed with a double to left. Travis Bazzana singled to left, scoring Adell. But then Scott went to work. He got Brayan Rocchio to ground to first, holding the slow-footed Lowe at third, then struck out both Petey Halpin and Patrick Bailey. Gritty pitching by one of the Mets' would-be aces.

But Scott was not as successful in the fifth, victimized to some extent by Brett Baty playing left field. After Angel Genao singled, Steven Kwan hit a bloop fly to left that A.J. Ewing would have caught on the run. But Baty, playing prevent defense, was stationed back by the fence and couldn't get to the ball in time. It dropped for single. After a walk to load the bases, Scott struck out Adell and it looked like he might work his way out of another jam. But Lowe ripped one to right, scoring Genao and Kwan to tie the game

Tonight's Feel-Good Story Is......

Jefry Yan, the 29-year-old who made his major league debut one night after Nare Lavender make his. Yan's journey to the majors preceded him to the mound, with stories in the day's papers chronicling how he signed as a teenager, stepped away from baseball for five years, played unaffiliated ball and worked odd jobs as a delivery man and a roofer before the Marlins resuscitated his career. And from the start, everyone got to see the most electric part of his game. No, not his 100-mph fastball, but his strikeout celebration.

Yan proceeded to give up two singles and a walk to lead the bases, but struck out Chase DeLauter (on swinging third strike call that saw Guardians manager Steven Vogt ejected) and got Jo Adell to ground out to end his night without yielding a run.

But there must be a one-per-game-only quota on those tales. Dedniel Nunez, who we remember from the magic 2024 playoff run, made his return from Tommy John surgery in the seventh and, after an error and two quick outs, gave up three consecutive singles that produced two runs and gave Cleveland the lead.