David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

On the day that all of Major League Baseball honored the late Jackie Robinson, the New York Mets continued their West Coast road trip and their series against the Oakland Athletics. It was RHP Carlos Carrasco on the mound for the visiting Mets against RHP Shintaro Fujinami on the mound for the Athletics in a tale of two starters that had struggled in the early stages of the 2023 season.

After taking the first game of the series on Friday with a wild 17-6 win, Saturday’s game was a far calmer affair. The Mets were able to win this one thanks to big hits in clutch moments. Pete Alonso and Mark Canha both hit home runs, while Brandon Nimmo hit a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning that gave the Mets a 3-2 lead. It was a lead they were able to protect on the way to securing their first three-game winning streak of the year.

The Mets put one baserunner on in the top of the first as Francisco Lindor hit a two-out double, but the Mets were not able to capitalize on it as Fujinami retired Nimmo to end the inning. Carrasco retired the Athletics in the bottom half of the inning and struck out one in the inning.

Fujinami answered back in the top of the second, retiring the Mets in order before the Athletics took the lead in the bottom of the second. Ramón Laureano singled to lead off the top of the second for the Athletics followed by a double by Aledmys Díaz that moved Laureano to third. Two batters later, Connor Capel grounded out but Díaz scored to give the Athletics a 1-0 lead. Carrasco then hit Carlos Pérez with a pitch, followed by Esteury Ruiz singling on a line drive to center field that scored Díaz and gave the Athletics a 2-0 lead over the Mets before Carrasco was finally able to get out of the inning.

The Mets put another baserunner on in the top of the third as Nimmo singled with two outs. The Mets again were not able to move the baserunner as Fujinami retired Marte to get out of the inning. Leaving runners on has been a flaw that has hurt this team consistently through the opening weeks of the 2023 season. Carrasco settled down in the bottom of the third, striking out two and retiring the Athletics in order. He had three strikeouts through three innings.

The Mets were able to get on the board in the top of the fourth. Alonso hit his seventh home run of the season to deep left field to make it a 2-1 game. That home run tied Alonso with Rafael Devers for the major league lead in home runs. It was an absolute bomb that again displayed Alonso’s pure power.

The Athletics loaded the bases in the fourth as they tried to get some momentum moving, but they were unable to capitalize. Carrasco gave up a double to Jesús Aguilar with one out and gave up a walk and a hit by pitch with two outs in the inning. He forced a line out from Tony Kemp for the third out to escape the inning, however.

The Mets put one baserunner on again in the fifth, but continued to struggle with runners on the base pads as Fujinami retired the other three batters he faced to retire the side. Carrasco then held up his end of the bargain by retiring the Athletics in order in the top of the fifth.

The Mets went down quiet in the sixth after Marte was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Fujinami, after hitting Marte, got three ground outs to retire the Mets. Carrasco hit Díaz with a pitch to lead off the inning in the bottom of the sixth. That was his last batter of the day as Showalter went to his bullpen. Drew Smith came on in relief for Carrasco. He forced a double play and collected a strikeout to get out of the inning. In total, Carrasco allowed two earned runs on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

The Mets were able to land the first big blow of the game in the seventh as they took the lead. After Canha made it a tied game with a solo homer against his former team, Daniel Vogelbach then walked and that forced Fujinami to the dugout as the Athletics went to their bullpen. Former Met Trevor May replaced Fujinami on the mound for the Athletics but, three batters later, Nimmo doubled off of his former teammate to score Tim Locastro and make it a 3-2 game before May got out of the inning.

Smith remained on the mound in the bottom of the seventh for the Mets. He hit Ruíz with a pitch with one out and Showalter went back to the bullpen. He brought in Brooks Raley to pitch with one out in the seventh. Raley retired the two batters he faced to end the inning.

The Athletics went back to their bullpen in the top of the eighth inning, bringing in Zach Jackson to replace May on the mound. Jackson retired the Mets in order to take the game to the bottom of the eighth inning.

The Mets also went back to their bullpen in the eighth. Adam Ottavino came on in relief of Raley. Things got dicey for Ottavino quickly in the eighth, however, He walked Brent Rooker to open the inning. After two quick outs he then walked Noda to put the go ahead run on base. With the pressure on, though, he was able to strike out Conner Capel to get out of trouble.

The Athletics went to their bullpen in the ninth. They brought in Dany Jiménez to replace Jackson on the mound. He retired the Mets in order to take the game to the bottom of the ninth. The Mets brought in David Robertson to pitch the ninth after Ottavino pitched a scoreless eighth.

The Athletics put the tying run on with a lead-off single by Pérez. Ruíz then played some small ball with a sacrifice bunt that moved Shea Langeliers to second. Robertson then retired the next two he faced to end the inning and the game as the Mets took the 3-2 win over the Athletics to take the first two games of the series.

Player of the Game

Brandon Nimmo earns Player of the Game honors for his exploits at the plate on Saturday. He was two-for-four with one RBI on the go-ahead double he hit in the seventh that scored Locastro to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. It proved to be the hit that won the game for the Mets and it was a beautiful piece of batting by Nimmo. He has proved time and time again his ability to come through in the clutch, and that proved to be the difference in Oakland on Saturday.

On Deck

The Mets and Athletics close out their series on Sunday at 4:07 PM ET. RHP José Butto (0-0) will get the start for the Mets with Max Scherzer pushed back to Wednesday due to lingering soreness. LHP JP Sears (0-1, 5.59 ERA) takes the mound for Oakland.