Contradicting the later stages of the game, the first five innings were a breeze as both Sean Manaea and Slade Cecconi cruised through five easy scoreless innings. Both kept relatively low pitch counts, especially Manaea, who was at just 57 through five frames.

But as Mets fans know, the sixth inning has not been kind to Mets starters this year. It was no different in this game, as the sixth inning was nothing short of a nightmare. Manaea faced eight batters and only retired two of them. Steven Kwan led off with a single to right field before Ángel Martínez was hit by a pitch while attempting to bunt. José Ramírez then flied out to right, putting runners on the corners with one out. That’s when things started to get out of hand.

A Manaea wild pitch nearly brought home Kwan from third, but Kwan opted to stay at the base while Martínez advanced to second. Manaea then surrendered three straight hits, two singles and a three-run homer off the bat of Gabriel Arias, to put the Guardians ahead 5-0 after entering the inning in a scoreless tie. Manaea then struck out Nolan Jones before allowing a single to Brayan Rocchio, ending Manaea’s night.

Through five innings, it appeared a near certainty that Manea would become the first Mets starter not named David Peterson to complete six innings in almost two months, but a blowup of epic proportions saw him exit the game just one out shy of that mark. In all, he allowed five runs over 5 2/3 innings, watching his ERA balloon from 2.08 to 3.52.

Cleveland’s starter Cecconi was equally as strong as Manaea through five innings. He didn’t allow a run, even working out of a runner-on-second, no-out scenario in the fifth. Like Manaea, though, Cecconi also faltered in the sixth, but not to the same extent and not entirely by his own doing.

Francisco Lindor reached base to lead off the inning on a strikeout and wild pitch before Juan Soto grounded a ball that got by the second baseman for an error. With runners on first and third and no outs, Pete Alonso socked a three-run homer to left-center field to get the Mets back within two. It was the 251st home run of Alonso’s career, putting him just one behind Darryl Strawberry‘s club record. The Mets couldn’t add on further, however, as the next three batters went down in order.

Tyler Rogers and Reed Garrett each pitched a relatively easy scoreless inning in the seventh and eighth to keep the Mets within striking distance. The Mets were unable to get anything going in the seventh but jumped all over Hunter Gaddis in the eighth.

Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and Jeff McNeil started off the inning with four straight singles, scoring a run and loading up the bases with no outs. Mark Vientos hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game, and Cedric Mullins nearly gave the Mets the lead, but a great defensive play kept the game tied, and it stayed that way into the ninth.

Edwin Díaz faced immediate trouble in the top of the ninth as he allowed a leadoff single, a stolen base, and an advance to third on a throw that made it to center field. With the Guardians threatening to take the lead right back, Díaz—coming right off a National League Reliever of the Month award for July—induced a strikeout, a popup, and another strikeout to strand the runner at third and give the Mets a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the inning.

Francisco Alvarez started the bottom of the ninth with a single off Cade Smith, promptly being removed from the game so Tyrone Taylor could pinch-run for him. Brandon Nimmo struck out for the fourth consecutive plate appearance before Francisco Lindor ripped a line drive double into right field. Taylor was held up at third, though there’s a chance he could have made it home safely to win the game. Juan Soto was intentionally walked to load the bases, setting up Pete Alonso to put an end to one of the best games of his career. Alonso worked a 2-2 count but struck out on a high fastball before Jeff McNeil hit a soft liner to the shortstop to put a sudden end to the game-ending threat.

José Ramírez was intentionally walked in the top of the 10th to put runners on first and second with no outs and Ryan Helsley on the mound. Disaster ensued when David Fry dropped down a bunt and Brett Baty sailed the throw to second wide and into the outfield, scoring a run and putting runners on second and third with still nobody out. A sacrifice fly gave the Guardians a massive insurance run, putting them ahead 7-5 as the game turned over to the bottom of the inning.

The first two batters of the inning, Mark Vientos and Cedric Mullins, both hit the ball hard, but both at-bats resulted in outs. Brett Baty then singled home Jeff McNeil, the ghost runner, to get the Mets back within a run. However, with Francisco Alvarez having been removed from the game, Luis Torrens was next up to bat with the game on the line. Torrens took a couple of pitches before skying a fly ball to deep right field, very close to the wall, but it ultimately fell short and was caught for the final out.

One of the most exciting wins of the season quickly turned into one of the worst losses of the season. It is the Mets’ sixth loss in their last seven games as they are now 1.5 games out of first place in the National League East.

Player of the Game

Pete Alonso had a fantastic game despite not coming through with a chance to win in the bottom of the ninth. He went 4-for-5 with a three-run homer and three singles, totaling four RBIs on the night. With almost the entire top of the lineup slumping before the past few games, Alonso appears to be fully back.

On Deck

The Mets will continue their series with the Guardians Tuesday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET. Clay Holmes (9-6, 3.45 ERA) will look to give the Mets a rare lengthy outing, while Logan Allen (7-9, 4.06 ERA), coming off a really good start against the Rockies, will take the mound for Cleveland. The game will be broadcast on SNY.

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The Mets Friday night allowed four runs in the ninth inning, but still won the game! It’s a new era in 2024 Mets baseball!

The Mets look to extend their winning streak to three games this afternoon and win their first series in 64 years. It is also Darryl Strawberry’s number retirement ceremony! Strawberry’s name can be found all over the Mets career leader boards:

• #2 Position WAR – 36.6
• #3 Slugging – .520
• #3 OPS – .878
• #9 Games Played – 1109
• #7 Plate Appearances – 4549
• #3 Runs Scored – 662
• #9 Hits – 1025
• #9 Doubles – 187
• #6 Triples – 30 (Tied with Brandon Nimmo)
• #2 RBI’s – 733
• #5 Stolen Bases – 191
• #1 Home Runs – 252

Strawberry has left his mark on the organization and now the Mets will finally give him his flowers, putting his number where it belongs with other Mets greats.

Mets Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Pete Alonso – 1B
3. Brandon Nimmo – CF
4. J.D. Martinez – DH
5. Starling Marte -RF
6. Mark Vientos – 3B
7. Jeff McNeil – 2B
8. Harrison Bader – CF
9. Tomás Nido – C

Sean Manaea looks to give the bullpen a rest today. Over 10 starts (51 1/3 innings) he has a 3.16 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 1.286 WHIP, and a 120 ERA+. Over his last seven starts (36 2/3 innings) he has a 2.70 ERA and a 3.49 FIP, so getting better results on the field despite having similar stuff to his season as a whole. After starting May off with back-to-back six-inning outings, Manaea has pitched five innings in his last two starts.

Manaea faced the Diamondbacks three times last year, all in relief, totaling 2 1/3 innings where he allowed one run off a hit and a walk. The Diamondbacks have the following career numbers against Manaea:

• Corbin Carroll 0-2, BB
• Randal Grichuk 5-14, 2B, 3B, 2 HR, BB, K
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. 0-4, K
• Ketel Marte 8-25, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB, 3 K
• Jake McCarthy 1-5, 2B
• Pavin Smith 0-3, 2 K
• Eugenio Suárez 1-3, BB
• Christian Walker 4-19, 2B, BB, 4 K

Opposing Lineup

1. Ketel Marte – DH
2. Corbin Carroll – CF
3. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. – LF
4. Christian Walker – 1B
5. Randal Grichuk – RF
6. Eugenio Suárez – 3B
7. Gabriel Moreno– C
8. Blaze Alexander – 2B
9. Kevin Newman – SS

The Mets bats will look to build off Friday’s offense explosion facing Slade Cecconi this afternoon. Over six games, and five starts this season Slade has pitched 32 1/3 innings with a 6.12 ERA, 5.92 FIP, 1.052 WHIP, and a 66 ERA+. May was an interesting month for Slade. he had one good start where he allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings. In each of his other three outings, he allowed exactly six runs. This came after an April where he allowed only three runs over 12 innings. Which Slade do the Mets get today? No one on the Mets roster has faced Slade in a major league game.

Game Notes

• Today, the New York Mets will retire Darryl Strawberry’s No. 18 in a special pregame ceremony. Strawberry was a seven-time All-Star with the Mets after he was selected first overall in the 1980 June Draft. Strawberry earned National League Rookie of the Year honors in 1983 when he slugged a then-club rookie record 26 homers. He is the Mets’ all-time leader in home runs (252), ranks second in RBI (733) and walks (580), third in extra-base hits (469) and runs (662), and fourth in slugging (.520).
• LHP Sean Manaea is set to take the bump today…Over his last seven starts, Manaea is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA (11 ER/36.1 IP) with 15 walks and 29 strikeouts in that span. He has not allowed more than three runs in any of those starts. Overall, he is 3-1 with a 3.16 ERA (18 Er/51.1 IP) with 22 walks and 47 strikeouts.
• Francisco Lindor is on a 10-game hitting streak. He is batting .386 (17-44) with five runs, five doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, three walks, and two steals with a .426 OBP and a .636 SLG in that span. In 14 games batting in the leadoff spot this year, Lindor is hitting .322/.388/.508 with eight runs, five doubles, two home runs, nine RBI, four walks, and two steals with an .897 OPS.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Lindor’s hot streak continues. Lindor stretched his hitting streak to 10 games Friday night going 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, a stolen base, and a run scored. He has now gone 17-for-44 over his last 10 games with seven extra-base hits while hitting .386/.426/.636. The Mets are also 2-0 after he called the team meeting.
2. J.D. Martinez breakout time? The Mets brought in J.D.’s bat to solidify the Mets lineup. He has now homered in back-to-back games and three times over his last seven games. Additionally, he has an extra-base hit in three consecutive games and hasn’t struck out in his last two games (16 strikeouts in the seven games before that). If he breaks out at the same time that Lindor is heating up, the Mets can start to go on a bit of a run.
3. Can the bullpen have a normal game today? Thursday the Mets bullpen took a one-run lead and locked it down. Friday the Mets bullpen took a five-run lead in the ninth inning and allowed four runs, but still held on for the win. Over the last week, we’ve seen the bullpen lose big leads or take tied games in extra innings into insurmountable situations for hitters. Let’s just have a normal day, please.

Let’s go Mets!

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