Pitching and Swag are the winning formula as Mets win desert duel

Mets 3 Diamondbacks 1 in 10 innings (Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ)

Mets record: 15-23

Mets streak: Won 1

WP - Devin Williams (2-1)

LP - Kevin Ginkel (1-2)

SV - Tobias Myers (1)

Seat on the Korner: Mark Vientos

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.

The Mets offense was in dire straits tonight, but it was Mark Vientos that delivered above all. His homer in the 2nd was only one of two hits in the first 9 innings. Then in the 10th he lined the first pitch he saw to left for the go ahead RBI double to put the Mets ahead for good in a 3-1 victory.

Need to Know

• This was the third extra inning win of the season for the Mets.

• Carson Benge batted 5th for the first time in his career. His RBI double in the 10th extended the Mets lead to 3-1.

• Nolan McLean lowered his ERA to 2.78 with his six inning outing tonight. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk (and a hit batsman) while striking out six in 100 pitches.

• Ryne Nelson gave up a run in his 6 and 2/3's innings of work, giving up two hits and a walk while striking out seven. Nelson gave up a run in 5 and 2/3's against the Mets on April 8th.

• Tobias Myers' save was the first of his major league career. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts to end it. He's the first pitcher other than Devin Williams to get a save.

• Ryan Waldschmidt singled off Brooks Raley in the 8th inning. It was his first major league hit in his first major league plate appearance.

Turning Point

The Mets brought in Brooks Raley to face two lefties in the 8th. But Torey Lovullo pinch hit Waldschmidt for his first MLB appearance, and he got a hit off Raley to set up a showdown between Raley and Nolan Arenado, who homered earlier in the game. Arenado tried to shoot one through the right side to set up a first and third situation for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. which would have been a problem.

But Marcus Semien saved the day and saved Raley (or whoever would have replaced him) a high leverage situation against Gurriel.

Three Keys

Swag Over Substance

What's insane about the 2026 season is just how bad the Mets have been against fastballs this season. Swaggy V hasn't been the exception to that rule, as he is batting .208 (with a slugging percentage to match) against the four seamer.

But he has a .600 slugging percentage against the slider, which he smacked over the wall against Nelson in the 2nd.

And even better, Vientos has a .263 average and a .632 slugging percentage against the sinker, which he got from Kevin Ginkel in the 10th to give the Mets the lead.

The Mets offense is in such a death spiral right now. The Diamondbacks starting pitching had a 7.90 ERA in the last 15 games, and of course the Mets could only muster one run in 6 and 2/3's against Nelson. Here's how bad it is: Leading off the 9th inning, Juan Soto and Bo Bichette, generally regarded as the two most accomplished hitters in the lineup right now, saw a grand total of three pitches while making two weak outs to lead off the inning. Thankfuly, the pitching held up its end of the bargain tonight and then some to lead the Mets to victory.

deGrommed Again, But It Goes Down Easy

Speaking of pitch selection, it was obvious that Nolan McLean's mission was the throw a bunch of off speed stuff against a team that actually hits fastballs well. His only misstep was the sinker to Nolan Arenado, who was hitting .368 against sinkers this season coming in.

But other than that, McLean gave the Mets quality. He did throw 100 pitches in six innings which is a lot, but 63 of those pitches were strikes, and his six K's were the 7th time in 8 starts that he reached six strikeouts in a game.

Don't Forget The Pen

Four scoreless innings by the bullpen shouldn't go unnoticed or uncelebrated. Luke Weaver was a little shaky with two walks but escaped trouble. Raley was helped out by Semien's play but he was solid. Devin Williams had his airbender working in the 9th, which is always great to see. He was fantastic.

But give it up for Tobias Myers, who was brought in for the save. Williams only threw eight pitches in the 9th, so if Myers had come in and blown it, they would have talked about that decision for a while, especially after Myers was torched in his last outing in Colorado.

But tonight Myers was dominant, and he made it clear that Colorado happened because it was Colorado.