Sean Manaea didn’t have it. Starling Marte couldn’t catch it. Francisco Lindor whiffed – in the field on a tag attempt.
Salvador Perez homered and drove in four runs to lead the Kansas City Royals (10-5) to an 11-7 win over the New York Mets (6-8) at Citi Field.
Manaea (1-1) entered the game with an ERA of 0.82 and left with it at 4.30. He went 3 2/3 innings, giving up eight runs (six earned) on nine hits and three walks. It was a struggle from the start.
Manaea gave up three singles in the first inning, including a two-out RBI hit to Nelson Velázquez that gave the Royals a 1-0 lead. New York came back with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Pete Alonso had an RBI single, Brett Baty drove in a run on a fielder’s choice ground out and DJ Stewart doubled him home.
Apr 13, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Sean Manaea (59) walks off the field after being taken out of the game in the fourth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Manaea had chances to pitch out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the second, but he walked Nick Loftin to bring in a run after getting ahead 0-2 in the count. He got ahead of Perez 0-2 as well before the veteran singled into left to drive in two. The Royals led 4-3 until Pete Alonso tied it with a solo homer in the third.
Bobby Witt Jr. hit a fly ball near the right field line in the fourth that bounced off of Marte’s glove for a three-base error. Loftin singled him in and Perez would launch a two-run homer to highlight the four-run inning for Kansas City. The Royals led 8-4 and never trailed again.
The Mets entered the game having allowed 21 consecutive runners to steal to start the season. The streak should’ve stopped there when Manaea had Garrett Hampson picked off at first. But Alonso’s throw to Lindor was to the outfield side of second base and Hampson was able to deke Lindor and he missed the tag as Hampson slid in safely. The play is scored as a stolen base.
The Royals stole two more bases on the day, pushing the ignominious streak to 24, tying the all-time mark set by the 1987 Montreal Expos, per the SNY broadcast. Records of caught stealing have been kept since 1951.
Trailing 11-4, New York got solo homers from Alonso and Marte to close to 11-6. A sacrifice fly by Tyrone Taylor made it 11-7 in the eighth. The Mets got singles from Joey Wendle and Marte in the ninth, but with two on and two out Lindor grounded out to second to end the game.
Stat of the Game
The Mets have played 14 games. In the first seven, they scored 16 runs on 38 hits. In the last seven, they have 51 runs on 82 hits.
Player of the Game
Alonso was 3-for-3 with two home runs, a walk, and three RBIs. It was his fourth straight multi-hit game and the 20th multi-homer game of his career. He is third on the all-time multi-homer list in franchise history behind Darryl Strawberry (22) and David Wright (21).
On Deck
The Mets will retire Dwight Gooden‘s No. 16 in a pre-game ceremony set to start at 1 p.m. ET. Jose Buttó (0-0, 1.50) will look for his second career win against lefty Cole Ragans (0-1, 2.60). First pitch is at 1:40 and the game will be broadcast on SNY.
