Off the bench and on the board: Francisco Lindor returns to put signature on a Coors Field pitcher's duel

Mets 4 Rockies 2 (Coors Field, Denver, CO)

Mets record: 40-24

Mets streak: Won 1

WP - Ryne Stanek (2-4)

LP - Zach Agnos (0-2)

SV - Edwin Diaz (14)

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.

Francisco Lindor had missed his second straight start with a broken pinky toe, but he pinch hit in the 9th in the biggest of situations ... two outs and two go ahead runs on base. Lindor smacked a double to bring 'em both home to give the Mets a big win in Denver on Friday night.

Need to Know

• The Mets are now 10-3 in their last 13 games, and they're again at their season high of 16 games over .500.

• The Mets win combined with the Phillies loss puts them 2.5 games clear of the rest of the N.L. East.

• Kodai Senga's first start in Coors Field was fantastic, throwing a career high 109 pitches, giving up one run on five hits, striking out six and walking two. He retired the first seven hitters, the first time a Mets pitcher had ever done that at Coors Field.

• Pete Alonso's two RBI gives him 14 RBI in June after driving in 15 all of May.

• Huascar Brazoban gave up the tying run in the 7th. He has now given up 3 runs in his last 4 appearances, after giving up 4 runs in his previous 24.

• Ronny Mauricio's double in the 8th was his first hit in the majors since being recalled from the minors.

• Ryan Ritter's triple in the 5th off Senga was Ritter's first career hit. Ritter became the first Rockie to have his first career hit be a triple.

• Juan Soto's three hits gave him his first three hit game as a Met.

Turning Point

Earlier in the game, the Mets had the bases loaded with nobody out in the 6th inning and didn't score. The Rockies were in the exact same situation in the bottom of the 8th with Ryne Stanek on the mound and Ryan McMahon at the plate.

McMahon hit a seed, but Baty snagged the liner and doubled up the runner at first to send a wave of relief through the Mets dugout. Stanek then got the strikeout to end the frame and set up the Mets winning rally in the 9th.

Three Keys

Not Bad For Your First Battle With Coors Field

It's always tough to pitch in Denver, especially if it's your first time. That's what makes Senga's outing an underrated gem. He started the game with a ten inning first and a ten inning second ... about as efficient as you get. He gave up a dinger to Mickey Moniak on a slider that didn't slide (a true Coors Field home run), but he leaned on his ghost fork to keep the Mets in the game long enough for them to break through.

Of course it helped that this was a great matchup for Senga, as his chase rate coming in was 46.7% combined with a 31.3% chase rate for the Rockies. But with Mets pitchers historically having issues at Coors Field (who doesn't) with a 44-60 record and a 6.07 ERA all time coming in, you have to give credit to Senga for what he pulled off tonight.

Pete's Seat Is Comfortable

Francisco Lindor had to have the seat tonight after his game winner off the bench with a broken toe. But on most other nights it would have been Pete Alonso. His defense was key tonight. First this play in the second ..

Then in the 5th on a play that went from "WHAT ARE YOU DOING" to "WHAT A PLAY!!!", Alonso cut down Mickey Moniak at the plate on a perfect throw on the run after fielding the grounder ...

That kept the Rockies from extending their lead to 2-0, and it turned out to be a massive play.

An inning and a half later after the Mets came up empty not only all game, but after loading the bases with nobody out in the 6th, Alonso came up clutch to give the Mets the lead.

And don't forget his Houdini slide on Lindor's 9th inning double to give Diaz some cushion for the save.

Brick Wall Defense

Baty's double play and Alonso's throw home were the standout plays tonight, but let's not forget Francisco Alvarez and Juan Soto. Alvarez made an incredible play on a bouncer to the plate to throw out a runner trying to steal in the 4th ...

And then in the 7th when Mickey Moniak tied the game on a single, he tried to stretch it into a double. But Juan Soto made a great throw to nail him and keep the rally from turning into a deluge.

This was perilously close to a loss against a 12-50 team (albeit a hot team after they swept the Marlins.) But the defensive gems kept it from happening.