Steven Matz and the New York Mets faced Derek Holland and the San Francisco Giants in the second game of this three-game set at AT&T Park in the Bay Area.
Matz continued his streak of quality starts with seven terrific innings of work, racking up a career-high eleven strikeouts and walking just one batter.
The 27-year-old Long Island native has a 1.90 earned-run average with 23 strikeouts and four walks over his last three starts (19 innings).
Tomas Nido had two hits and an RBI, Seth Lugo threw two perfect innings in relief, Todd Frazier put the Mets ahead with a sacrifice fly in the eleventh, and Bob Gsellman secured the save.
Pitching
Matz worked around a one-out Austin Slater single in the first, retiring Evan Longoria and Nick Hundley to leave him stranded.
Steven Matz struck out the side in the second, punching out Brandon Belt, Hunter Pence, and Alen Hanson on 17 pitches.
After issuing a leadoff walk to Joe Panik to start the third, Matz set down Holland, Gorkys Hernandez, and Slater to leave another Giants baserunner on base.
Longoria led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run to left-center, staking San Fran to a 1-0 lead.
Matz struck out the next three batters he faced (Hundley, Belt, Pence) to shake off the brief blunder.
The Giants went down in order again in the fifth, with Matz needing just nine pitches to retire Hanson, Panik, and H0lland.
Matz put another perfect frame together in the sixth, striking out Hernandez.
After notching his career-high-tying ninth and career-high tenth strikeouts to start the seventh, Amed Rosario got eaten up by a bad-hop allowing Pence to reach base, but Matz recovered to rack up his eleventh punchout of the game, getting Hanson swinging at an 83 MPH changeup.
Matz finished his day (93 pitches, 68 strikes) with one earned run on three hits, with eleven strikeouts and one walk allowed in seven of the strongest innings he’s thrown this season.
Seth Lugo came on to pitch the eighth and worked a perfect frame, striking out Chris Shaw and Gorkys Hernandez.
Lugo came back out for the ninth and got Slater, Longoria, and Hundley to send the game to extra innings.
Jerry Blevins, still a Met, struck out Belt to start his outing in the tenth. He walked Pence, struck out Hanson, and got Panik to fly out to get back on track after an ugly outing in his last appearance.
Robert Gsellman returned to the lineup (strep throat) to pitch the bottom of the eleventh and retired Los Gigantes in order for his ninth save of the season.
Brandon Nimmo made a terrific diving catch to end the game and tie this weekend series at one.
Offense
There wasn’t a ton of offense to speak of for the Mets today. Jay Bruce drew a two-out walk in the first but was left on base.
Austin Jackson notched the Mets first hit of the game with a one-out single in the second, but Brandon Nimmo grounded into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.
Amed Rosario continued his second-half surge, lacing his seventh triple of the year with two outs in the third, but Wilmer Flores couldn’t bring him home.
The Mets went down in order in the fourth but finally got on the board in the fifth after Nimmo drew a one-out walk and was driven home by Tomas Nido’s double that bounced up against the right-field wall, tying the game at one apiece.
Todd Frazier drew a two-out walk in the sixth and Michael Conforto singled in the next at-bat, but Frazier overran third base and Hanson wisely held on to the ball and tossed it over for the put-out.
Nido got his second hit of the day in the seventh, a two-out base hit, but was left on base when Matz struck out.
Jay Bruce singled with two gone in the top of the eighth but Frazier struck out to end any threat, and Will Smith set the Mets down in order in the ninth, striking out Conforto and Nimmo.
The Mets went down in succession in the tenth against Reyes Moronta.
Flores led off the top of the eleventh with a double down the left field line off of Strickland. Bruce grounded out, moving Flores to third, and Frazier lined a sacrifice fly to left to score Wilmer and give the Mets a 2-1 lead.
On Deck
The Mets send Noah Syndergaard (9-3, 3.51 ERA) to the mound against Chris Stratton (9-7, 4.99 ERA) and the Giants at 4:05 p.m.
The game will be televised on SNY and broadcast on 710 WOR.
