The Mets made the most of a night built around the long ball, turning an early outburst into a 10-6 win over the Giants in the series opener at Citi Field.
Nolan McLean didn’t have his cleanest stuff, but he had plenty of breathing room from the start. The Mets backed him with a seven-run burst before the Giants could really settle in, and McLean used that cushion to grind through six innings for his 11th win of the season.
The tone was set immediately in the first. Francisco Lindor opened with a single, Bo Bichette worked a walk, and Mark Vientos hammered an opposite-field three-run homer off Tugboat Wilkinson to put New York in front 3-0. The Mets kept the pressure on in the second, with Francisco Alvarez leading off the frame by launching a solo shot to make it 4-0.
From there, the inning kept unraveling for the Giants. Nick Morabito drew a walk and then advanced on a balk.
Francisco Lindor reached when shortstop Christian Koss committed a fielding error, and Juan Soto followed with a groundout that brought Morabito home. Soto then stole second, and Bichette sent another one over the fence in left field for the Mets’ second homer of the inning and third of the night.
Vientos added another hard swing later in the inning, but this time Koss handled it. Even so, the damage was done: New York had raced out to a 7-0 lead.
McLean gave some of that back in the third. After striking out the first hitter he faced, he walked Koss and then allowed a single to Drew Gilbert.
Rafael Devers, who carried most of the Giants’ offense, ripped a double into the gap in right center to drive in both runners and trim the lead to 7-2. McLean regrouped with a strikeout of Bryce Eldridge, but another walk kept the inning alive before Marcus Semien helped erase the threat with a strong play on a Jung Hoo Lee grounder to end it.
The middle innings slowed down, though not because the Giants suddenly found their footing. Wilkinson only lasted three innings, and Yunior Marte came on in long relief in the fourth and worked around a walk to keep the Mets quiet for a frame.
McLean, meanwhile, had to escape a bigger mess in the fifth after Devers doubled, Eldridge walked and Turner Hill singled to load the bases. He punched out Jung Hoo Lee and then got Drew Cavanaugh to bounce into a double play, with Semien making another sharp play by flipping to Lindor as he fell and Lindor completing the turn to keep the Giants off the board.
McLean returned for the sixth and reached a career-high 105 pitches. He finished the inning by striking out Koss and walked off screaming in triumph toward the dugout. It was far from effortless, but he battled through a quality start.
The Mets answered again in the bottom of the sixth, and once more it came on a blast. Jared Young drew a leadoff walk, Marte got two outs, and then Lindor crushed an upper-deck homer down the right field line to make it 8-2.
The Giants kept hanging around. Jonah Cox, pinch hitting for Drew Gilbert, singled to start the seventh, and after Devers struck out, Bryce Eldridge walked to move Cox into scoring position.
Turner Hill then singled home a run to make it 8-3. Jefry Yan got out of the inning with help from Austin Warren, who came in after Andrew Knizner hit for Cavanaugh and struck him out to end the frame.
New York had a chance to blow it open again in the seventh when Bichette singled and Vientos reached on a sharp grounder that caromed off Osleivis Basabe’s bare hand. Marte escaped further damage, but Basabe’s night was over anyway, replaced in the eighth by Grant McCray.
Warren struck McCray out looking and got another out, but the Giants finally put together a two-out push. Koss and Cox singled back to back, and Devers turned on an inside pitch and drove it a long way for a three-run homer that sliced the Mets’ lead to 9-6.
Andy Green then went to Robert Stock, making his first relief appearance of the season. Stock gave up a double to Eldridge and then watched Turner Hill line one hard, but Carson Benge hauled it in to end the inning and preserve the lead. That outing earned Stock his first hold of the season.
Alvarez added the final insurance in the ninth, blasting his second homer of the night and 15th of the season to push the Mets into double figures. Kodai Senga handled the last inning, working around a two-out walk to close it out and lock down the dinger-fueled win.
In Other News...
Mets Are Letting Young Players Struggle For One Important Reason
Andy Green framed A.J. Ewings recent benching as a 48-hour reset, and the short pause seemed to do the trick when Ewing responded with a two-run homer in his next chance. It fit the Mets broader approach with their younger players, which has been less about quick hooks and more about letting the rough stretches become part of the lesson.
Green said the organization wants prospects like Ewing, Zac Thornton and Jonah Tong to work through the inevitable growing pains instead of getting rattled by every slump. For Tong, Green also sounded steady about his place with the club after a recent improvement in Triple-A, which says plenty about where the Mets are right now: patient, development-minded and willing to let the kids keep learning on the fly. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Fans Just Saw How Close A Rival Came To Trouble
The waiver wire offered a small reminder of how quickly the market can turn for a contending club. The Padres made a run at outfielder Luis Robert Jr., only to be outbid by the Orioles, whose worse record gave them the claim and the chance to add him. For Mets fans watching the National League landscape, it was the kind of near-miss that can quietly shape October intentions without ever making a headline.
Robert was placed on the injured list shortly after arriving in Baltimore, and the Orioles now face a $2 million buyout cost on his contract option this offseason. San Diego sidestepped that financial commitment by losing the claim, which means the rival never had to live with the full risk that comes with a player whose health remains part of the equation. [Read more 🡒]
Carson Benge Just Gave Mets Fans A Real Rookie Of The Year Race
The National League Rookie of the Year conversation has suddenly become a lot more interesting for Mets fans, and Carson Benge is a big reason why. Alongside Nolan McLean, Benge has put himself in the mix with Cincinnatis Sal Stewart, giving New York a pair of legitimate contenders at a time when the award picture had started to narrow elsewhere.
Benges case is built on more than just what hes done at the plate. His performance has been trending up, and his work in the field has added another layer to his value, which matters in a race this tight. With St. Louis second baseman JJ Wetherholt now on the Injured List and possibly sliding out of contention, the opening for one of these young players to seize the award feels very real. [Read more 🡒]