A Torrens-al Downpour of Runs Gives Mets Win in Cleveland

Mets 6 Guardians 2 (Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH)

Mets record: 48-66

Mets streak: Won 1

WP - Sean Manaea (3-5)

LP - Joey Cantillo (8-7)

Seat on the Korner: Luis Torrens

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.

After some speculation that he could be traded, or that teams would at least be inquiring about him, catcher Luis Torrens rewarded the Mets for holding onto him at yesterday's trade deadline. Not only did he go 3-3 with a home run on Tuesday night, but his 4 RBIs matched his total for all of July. His second-inning 3-run blast gave the Mets a lead they would never relinquish, and helped him earn his own Seat on the Korner.

Need to Know

• This was the first Mets win against Cleveland since they swept a double-header on May 21, 2023. Those two wins were the tail end of a 7-game winning streak against the Guardians. In turn, the Mets had lost 6 straight to Cleveland.

• The Mets are now 14-14 in interleague play this year, and 316-314 all time.

• Carson Benge hit his first home run of August. He's looking to repeat his July success, when he hit 302/.371/.430 with 11 runs, 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 9 RBIs, 9 walks, 6 stolen bases, and an .801 OPS in 23 games.

• Benge wasn't just successful at the plate either. His inning-ending assist from right field caught Brayan Rocchio attempting to go first-to-third on a Steven Kwan single. It was Benge's 5th outfield assist on the season.

• Not all the Mets fielding was stellar, however. Francisco Lindor's high throw on a Jo Adell grounder was his 8th error of the season (although the call might have been overturned if the Mets had challenged). The two-time Gold Glove winner had 13 errors in 158 games in the field last year, and already has 8 in just 56 games at short this season. His current .958 fielding percentage is the lowest of his career, and is .022 lower than his career .980.

  
  

Turning Point

It is not often that a player's major league debut is also the game's turning point, but it happened on Tuesday night. With the Mets holding onto a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the 7th inning, Cleveland put their first two batters on base, bringing up the potential tying run with none out. Reliever Daniel Duarte then got pinch-hitter Nathaniel Lowe and Angel Martinez to each line out. With left-handed rookie Travis Bazzana coming to the plate, Mets interim manager Andy Green summoned Nate Lavender to take the mound. While Lavender's trip from the bullpen to the mound was uneventful, his journey to the majors was anything but. The Mets drafted the southpaw in the 14th round of the 2021 MLB Draft. Lavender worked his way to Triple-A Syracuse in 2023 and remained there in 2024 until an elbow injury early in the season required surgery. He missed the remainder of the '24 season, and after being picked by the Tampa Bay Rays before 2025, he missed that season as well while recovering. He was returned to the Mets at the end of the season. This year he started out in Single-A Port St. Lucie for 6 games, and had a 3-game stop in Brooklyn, before returning to Syracuse where he went 2-2 with a 3.27 ERA in 25 games. None of that really mattered though as Lavender took the mound to face Cleveland's former number 1 pick, Bazzana. Lavender struck him out on 6 pitches, catching him looking at a fastball, and preserving the Mets 3-run lead.

Lavender then pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning to help guide the Mets toward their eventual 6-2 victory.

Three Keys

Quality Manaea

Sean Manaea made his 10th start of the season on Tuesday night. Since returning to the Mets rotation on June 13th, he is now 2-4 with a 3.79 ERA, 18 walks and 50 strikeouts in 54.2 innings. On the night, Manaea went 6 innings giving up 2 runs (both earned) on 7 hits, while walking 5, and striking out 7. He earned his 5th Quality Start of the season.

Let Bo-Gones Be Bo-Gones

Mets third baseman Bo Bichette had another multi-hit game, with a single and a home run. The 422-foot blast was his 11th of the season, and his first ever in Progressive Field.

Over his last 52 games (dating back to June 3rd), Bichette is batting .307 with 6 home runs, 10 doubles, 1 triple, 26 runs scored, and 26 RBIs. He now has 21 multi-hit games in that span.

Closing It Out

Newly tabbed setup man, Kodai Senga pitched a scoreless 9th inning in a non-save situation. Senga followed up his relatively strong performance on Saturday night by retiring 3 of the 4 batters he faced tonight. The lone blemish, a 5-pitch walk to Jo Adell.