Photo via USA Today.

The New York Mets (23-12) walked away victorious against the Seattle Mariners (15-19) by a score of 5-4 in a game that had no shortage of drama. The Mets bounced back from a disappointing loss on Friday night, staving off another late-inning Mariners’ rally. The victory featured a strike from a player with a penchant for clutch moments.

The night started with a rain delay of a little over an hour. But, the first inning provided plenty of action for those who stuck it out at an electric Citi Field. Chris Bassitt loaded the bases with two outs on a hit batter and two walks, but he picked off Eugenio Suárez at second base to get out of the jam.

In the bottom of the first inning, Starling Marte roped a pitch to right center but was thrown out trying to take third base. The Mets challenged and the call was overturned, giving Marte his first triple as a Met. Francisco Lindor scored him with an RBI single, giving the Mets a first inning run for the fourth consecutive game.

The Mets tacked on two more runs in the third inning against the young arm on the mound for the Mariners, George Kirby. Marte doubled off the glove of a diving Julio Rodríguez to give New York runners on second and third with no outs. Lindor came through with a sacrifice fly to plate Brandon Nimmo and advance Marte to third.

Two batters later, Jeff McNeil laced a ball to right field, where Steven Souza Jr. made a leaping catch to rob him of an extra-base hit. It went down in the books as a sacrifice fly, as Marte scored from third to give New York a 3-0 lead.

The Mets made it 4-0 off Mariners’ reliever Penn Murfee with an RBI double from Pete Alonso in the bottom of the fifth. Marte scored from first without a throw, his third run scored of the game. Alonso now has 29 RBI on the season, which leads the NL and is third-most in baseball.

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Bassitt looked out of sorts through most of his outing, as he struggled to establish a rapport with reserve catcher Patrick Mazeika. Mazeika was called up in the wake of James McCann’s injury. Still, he was largely able to avoid trouble, keeping the Mariners off the board through the first five innings. He eventually gave up an RBI single to Souza Jr. in the sixth inning, which ultimately ended his night.

Seth Lugo came in and got Adam Frazier to fly out with the bases loaded to hold the Mariners to just one run in the inning. Bassitt threw 108 pitches, the most he has thrown in a start as a Met. In doing so, he racked up eight strikeouts and made a few key pitches to keep the Mariners’ bats at bay.

Lugo got into his own jam in the seventh, giving up consecutive singles to J.P. Crawford and Suárez to put two runners on with one out. Chasen Shreve was brought in and immediately surrendered a three-run homer to Citi Field villain Jesse Winker, tying the game at 4-4.

It didn’t take long for the Mets to reclaim the lead. Stepping up to the plate to lead off the bottom of the seventh, Mazeika launched a home run on the first pitch he saw from Andrés Muñoz. This gave the Mets a 5-4 lead. Mazeika is no stranger to late-game heroics, as he famously recorded two walk-off RBIs via a fielder’s choice during his first stint in the big leagues last season.

The Mariners threatened in the eighth inning, but Adam Ottavino stranded a runner on third to get the game to the ninth. Citi Field sounded the trumpets, and Edwin Díaz did what he does best, mowing down the heart of the Mariners’ order for his eighth save of the year.

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Player of the Game: Starling Marte

Mazeika will get the headlines for his go-ahead homer, but Marte had his hands all over this victory. He finished a home run shy of the cycle, and he scored three of the Mets’ five runs. He even collected a stolen base, his first in his past 17 games played. This is the Marte that the Mets knew they were getting when they signed him this past offseason.

Final line for Marte: 3-for-4, 3 R, 1 SB

On Deck

The Mets will look to secure yet another series victory against the Mariners on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field. First pitch is set for 1:40 P.M. EST, and the game will broadcast on SNY. The Mets will run out Carlos Carrasco, while the Mariners will counter with 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray.