The New York Mets (63-74) capped off a back-and-forth series with a victory in the rubber game, defeating the Seattle Mariners (77-59) 6-3 at Citi Field on Sunday. Pete Alonso smacked a pair of homers, Jeff McNeil stayed hot, and the pitching staff led by Tylor Megill did enough to keep the Seattle offense at bay.
Megill got the start for the Mets, still trying to establish his place in this Mets rotation. He kept the Mariners off the board through the first three innings while sitting 95 mph with his fastball. He allowed a walk and a single in the second inning, but he ended the frame with a strikeout of Cade Marlowe and struck out three in the first three innings overall.
The Mets’ offense, which has scored the fewest first-inning runs of any team in baseball this season, got the team out to a rare 1-0 start against right-hander George Kirby — helped by a gift from the Mariners. Second baseman Josh Rojas muffed a ground ball, allowing Francisco Lindor to reach. With two outs, Alonso singled to Julio Rodriguez in center. Third base coach Joey Cora gave Lindor an aggressive send around third, and Rodriguez had a chance to gun down Lindor at the plate, but his throw was off-line and the Mets’ shortstop raced across home.
Facing Kirby, who’s walked less than a batter per nine innings this year, the Mets were going to need to attack. And they did just that, scoring another run on hits from Ronny Mauricio and Francisco Álvarez in the second inning. It was Mauricio’s fifth hit in his first eight major league at-bats. His fellow youngster Álvarez has struggled lately, but he took a pitch in on the hands and blooped it into just the right spot in left field.
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Alonso added a line-drive two-run homer in the third. He scorched it 115.6 mph off the bat, sneaking it over the wall in a hurry to put the Mets up 4-0. Kirby was pulled after a season-low three innings, with the Mets pushing his pitch count up to 73.
But Megill, who was in control for the first three innings, let up in the fourth. After getting the first two outs of the inning, he hit Eugenio Suarez, then surrendered back-to-back homers to Dominic Canzone and Mike Ford. The Mariners rapidly sliced the Mets’ lead to 4-3.
A nifty double play turned by Lindor on a sharp liner helped Megill get through the fifth inning unscathed. After securing the first out of the sixth, Megill was taken out with 85 pitches under his belt. His final line saw him allow three runs in 5 1/3 innings on five hits and two walks, while striking out six.
Jeff McNeil switched the momentum back in the Mets’ favor with a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth — his seventh of the season. It’s been a tough year for the scrappy slap hitter, but he’s batting over .300 during the last month. The shot, which came against recently departed Met Dominic Leone, lifted his season OPS above .700.
The power kept coming, as Alonso swatted his second homer of the game two innings later. This one was hit with a higher launch angle at 107 mph. The Mets, who had nearly let the Mariners back in it, now had a 6-3 lead.
The Mets’ bullpen held down the fort the rest of the way. Brooks Raley retired all five batters he faced, and Trevor Gott worked around a two-out walk to pitch a scoreless eighth.
Adam Ottavino had a bounceback ninth inning after giving up the go-ahead homer in Saturday’s game. The Mariners brought the tying run to the plate after a soft nubber to third base by Sam Haggerty, but Ottavino ended the game by striking out J.P. Crawford — who hit the aforementioned home run. Ottavino got his revenge and completed the Mets’ 6-3 win.
Player of the Game
Alonso made undoubtedly the largest impact on this game, collecting three hits including two homers. He now has 41 homers and 100 RBIs on the season. It’s his third 40-homer season in his first five MLB seasons (which includes the COVID-shortened campaign). It’s also his third 100-RBI season.
On Deck
The Mets will get Monday off before traveling to Washington, DC for a quick two-game series against the Nationals. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET on Tuesday, with José Quintana taking on Patrick Corbin.
