Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets were this close to losing six in a row, with their offense totally despondent. Then, finally, the well found a drip of water.

Held scoreless into the ninth inning, the Mets fought to beat the San Francisco Giants 6-2 in 12 innings Wednesday afternoon to avoid a sweep and their sixth-straight loss.

Kevin Pillar was the day’s hero with an unlikely one-out, three-run home run in the top of the 12th to put the Mets up for good.

Pillar had just 12 hits since July 1 before his dinger.

This game really started in the ninth inning when the Mets finally scratched across a run.

After Pete Alonso and Michael Conforto got on first and third to start the frame, J.D. Davis knocked Alonso in on a sac fly–just their 15th of the year but third in the last four games–to tie the game at one.

 

Though they couldn’t put a run on the board in the 10th inning with a free runner on second, Michael Conforto doubled in the 11th with Jeff McNeil on third to put the Mets up 2-1.

Jeurys Familia tried to lock down the win in the bottom of the inning, but Tommy La Stella extended the game with a leadoff single, bringing in LaMonte Wade Jr., who started the inning on second, in to make it 2-2. Familia was able to avoid any other damage and sent the game to the 12th.

That’s when the Mets had one of their biggest innings of the year.

Jonathan Villar almost vaulted the Mets to a lead to start the frame on a double down the line, but the call was overturned and deemed foul, then he struck out. Patrick Mazeika hit an infield single, though, then Pillar jacked his home run off Tyler Chatwood.

Chance Sisco, a catcher just called up as James McCann wasn’t available, extended the lead to 6-2 with a double following a Jeff McNeil double.

Jake Reed closed the game out with his fourth scoreless inning since coming to the Mets.

Not to be lost Wednesday is that Tylor Megill offered one of his better starts of the year–and certainly in the month of August. The 26-year-old tossed six innings of one-run ball. All the damage came in a stretch where the Giants got three straight hits in the fourth inning, capped by a Wade Jr. double that scored Alex Dickerson.

Megill lowered his ERA to 3.21 through 56 big-league innings (11 starts). It was the second start in a row where a Met pitcher lasted at least six innings–something the team has missed the last month or so.

Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

Miguel Castro and Trevor May each delivered scoreless innings after Megill, and Edwin Diaz threw two huge scoreless frames in the ninth and tenth.

The day started with owner Steve Cohen calling out the Mets’ offense, saying, “It’s hard to understand how professional hitters can be this unproductive.” And they almost doubled down on his point a couple hours later.

Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani left the game in the second inning with “right ankle discomfort,” just five days after coming off the injured list with shoulder fatigue. That left the Giants bullpen with at least 7.2 innings to fill, and they nearly shut the Mets down for all of them until the Mets scored a run in the ninth.

The Mets now are back at .500–60-60–with 42 games to go.

The team will head down the California coast to Los Angeles for their next four games as they face the Dodgers starting Thursday. (After those four come three more with the Giants.)

Taijuan Walker will get another look at the Dodgers lineup on Thursday after no-hitting them for 6.1 innings on Saturday. Walker ultimately gave up a home run to Will Smith and a double to Corey Seager, which ultimately ended his night. His 6.2 innings of one-run ball were his best since the All-Star break, though, and he’ll look to build on that at Chavez Ravine.

The Dodgers haven’t announced who will start the 10:10 EST game after Julio Urias had to be placed on the injured list this weekend. However, Walker Buehler, Max Scherzer and David Price will start Friday through Sunday for Los Angeles.