The good vibes continue as Mets dine on meatball sliders in 9th inning comeback

Mets 5 Nationals 4 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets record: 55-69

Mets streak: Won 2

WP - Jefry Yan (1-0)

LP - Yovanny Cruz (0-1)

Seat on the Korner: Francisco Lindor and Carson Benge

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.

This is an impossible choice to make so I'm not making it. Francisco Lindor went 2-for-4 and drove in the winning run in the 9th to walk it off. He has to have a seat. But it isn't as if Ralph has never interviwed two players at once before.

Carson Benge's sequence can't be ignored. He homered in the bottom of the 6th to bring the Mets to within a run, and then he cut down a runner at the plate in the 7th to keep the Mets within a run. They don't win without his contributions.

Need to Know

• The Mets are now 8-3 in their last 11 since the trading deadline.

• Carson Benge's on-base streak reached 18 games with his homer and two walks today.

• Jefry Yan earned his first major league victory after pitching 1 and 2/3's scoreless innings in the 7th and 8th while striking out three.

• Francisco Lindor's walk off single in the 9th was the 10th of his career.

• For the Mets, it's their 6th walk off win of the season.

• Sean Manaea pitched better than his line indicated, giving up four runs in 6 and 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and two walks while striking out seven. He threw 64 strikes in 93 pitches.

• Andres Chapparo's home run in the 4th off Manaea was the first homer Manaea had given up on an 0-2 pitch since 2021.

Turning Point

Carson Benge was the human turning point today. When Brady House hit the fair pole in the 6th for a three-run dinger to make it 4-2 Nationals, it could have been the dagger. But Benge took the game by the throat at that point, and it started with a long homer in the bottom of the 6th on a meatball down the middle.

And then it continued in the top of the 7th as Benge prevented a 5th Nationals run with what is becoming one of the best arms in the league.

Three Keys

They Went to Jared, and He Delivered

Let's talk about the day Jared Young had. In the first inning when Nationals starter Brad Lord was the Lord of Walks, Young converted on a couple of those walks with a two-run double to give the Mets the early lead.

Then in what will probably be a largely overlooked play, Young made a diving play in the 8th to prevent a mild rally from becoming white knuckle time.

'Penning a Great Story

The difference in these two games has been the bullpens. We were furiously putting together a Will Dion graphic for the Seat on the Korner when the 9th inning happened. Dion's 4 and 1/3 hitless innings with 7 K's as the bulk guy would have made him the star of the show if his late inning bullpen mates didn't let him down late in the game.

But the Mets bullpen has been excellent since the trading deadline, and that didn't change as Dedniel Nunez and Jefry Yan combined for 2 and 2/3's scoreless innings, giving up only one hit and striking out four.

Nunez needed a good outing and got it, as his slider looked the best it has looked this season. As for Yan ... he's just fun. He's the best argument for the "sports is merely entertainment" crowd with his leaps and smiles. His jump after ball three which was immediately followed by an ABS challenge legitimately made me laugh, and in a tough season like this we could all use a laugh or two.

Luckily, Yan would eventually get the strikeout and jump for real.

Combined, Nunez and Yan threw 21 strikes in 33 pitches. They can jump like Bugs Bunny with numbers like that for all I care.

Meatball Sliders Taste Better in the 9th Inning

With the bottom of the order coming up down by a run in the 9th, expectations weren't so high. But it isn't as if the Mets were facing Trevor Hoffman out there. So when Brett Baty worked out a walk against Yovanny Cruz, there was a little hope, even with Jorge Polanco coming to the plate.

At that point, the conversation centered around whether it was better for Polanco to try to bunt, or to swing and risk hitting into a double play. That's how low the expectations were, at least 'round these parts. But Polanco, who has had seven hits since July 7th, singled off a meatball slider to keep the rally going. At that point, it was destined that the Mets would win because Polanco hits are like gold ... you don't waste hits by a .137 hitter.

Then Francisco Alvarez strode to the plate and got his meatball slider to tie the game.

Then after Cruz struck out A.J. Ewing, the Nationals decided to pitch to Francisco Lindor instead of setting up the double play and facing Bo Bichette. That's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation, because no matter who you face, they're going to serve up your meatball slider to the outfield for a game winning hit.

Meatball sliders always go down smooth.